Eddie Whitley flashes a grin as he wears |
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Butler (Matthews, N.C.) senior and Virginia Tech verbal commitment Eddie Whitley learned this summer that he had a torn ACL, an injury that he underwent surgery to repair, forcing him to miss his senior season. The 6-1, 175-pound cornerback recruit, a significant part of one of the best high school defensive backfields in the country last season as a junior, took some time to discuss his injury, how his rehabilitation is coming and his future at Virginia Tech. He is the latest subject of TSL's "Q&A."
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Q&A with Eddie Whitley
TSL: First of all, how is your injury?
Eddie Whitley : "I'm almost there where I can start doing light agility. I've been doing hang cleans and front squats. I've been doing a little jump-roping. I'm moving along pretty good, but I'm not going to rush anything."
TSL: Talk about your rehabilitation up to this point. Mentally, was it tough to dive right into the rehab?
Eddie Whitley : "My therapist said to stop favoring the knee or it will never get better, so I just let loose. I know Mike Goforth from Virginia Tech doesn't want me to run full speed until the quad muscle on the injured leg is the same as the regular one, but, with my training, the other one is getting bigger also so it could take a while (laughs). I feel myself getting stronger in all aspects. I'm doing more strengthening in my knee, but I'm also getting bigger muscles every day from therapy and working out."
TSL: How has the team done this year?
Eddie Whitley : "We are 8-2. That is good for a regular team, but we set our goals real high. For us, that is like going 6-4 or 7-5. In the losses we had, we just didn't come to play. I guess we just thought that since our name is Butler that we would win."
TSL: Obviously, you've had to miss your entire senior season. How tough has it been for you to sit on the sideline?
Eddie Whitley : "For me to know I could've played this year but I made the decision not to has been tough. My doctor thought the injury could've happened a few years ago and that I had just been able to play on. I decided to get the procedure done this summer, though. Our D could be the best in the state right now. I think we've struggled without some more leadership out there and I can't really help on the sideline. I can tell our younger guys what to do after they've given up a play, but I don't like that. It has been a long year for me."
TSL: Since you cannot be on the field, what are you trying to do during the course of a game?
Eddie Whitley : "I'm just trying to learn the game more by looking at other players' mistakes. I also look at other defenses. I try to visualize myself out there. I'm learning defense better now by being on the sideline, looking from a different standpoint. I think it has helped me out a lot."
TSL: What is the prognosis on your recovery?
Eddie Whitley : "The doctor said I could come back and play in December. If we make the state championship game, I could come back and play. But, he suggested I stay out for the full eight months. By February, I could be totally good to go. I told him I don't want to favor the knee at all. I don't want a brace. I want to be at 100-percent and not think about the knee when I get back on the field."
TSL: Could you enroll at Virginia Tech this January? Will you?
Eddie Whitley : "I could enroll in January, but I'll go ahead and enroll in June. I just want to go through my senior year. I want to go to Prom and do more senior things, especially since I've missed out on my last football season."
TSL: Have you been to any of Virginia Tech's home games?
Eddie Whitley : "I've been to the ECU game and the Carolina game. I'm going to the Florida State and Miami games next. I'm not going to take an official until December."
TSL: Was the ECU game your first live game experience in Blacksburg?
Eddie Whitley : "My junior year, we went on a recruiting visit. It was me, Rob [Blanton] and Spence [Adams]. I had seen the atmosphere and it was crazy. That was already in my head before. They were getting blown out against Georgia Tech and the fans were still yelling and jumping up and down.
"Besides ECU and Carolina, I really wanted to go to the Boston College game. Everybody said you haven't been to a Virginia Tech game until you've been to a Thursday night game, but I didn't go because it was raining. A friend of mine went and he told me it was great."
TSL: Which friend of yours attended the BC game?
Eddie Whitley : "[Sanford (Fayetteville, N.C.) senior TE/DE] Dwayne Allen [who is a soft verbal to Georgia]. He said it was real hyped."
TSL: Do you stay in touch with Dwayne a lot?
Eddie Whitley : "I talk to Lorenzo [Williams] and Dwayne a lot. I was born in Fayetteville, so we've all got a little tie in there together."
TSL: Have you done some recruiting for Virginia Tech with Dwayne?
Eddie Whitley : "I'm trying to put a little something in his ear. I told him if the atmosphere was better than Georgia, then I know the school is better than Georgia."
TSL: With Lorenzo, I know both of you are being recruited to play cornerback at Virginia Tech. Do you talk to each other about being the next shutdown corners at Tech?
Eddie Whitley : "Hopefully, we will be. I know he is at linebacker right now, so I know his tackling is going to be very good. I have to work on more open field tackling and try to be tougher in the trenches. It comes from me lifting weights."
TSL: I understand that Virginia Tech is recruiting another teammate of yours in [senior wide receiver] Jarrett Boykin. Can you give a little scouting report on Boykin?
Eddie Whitley : "I think the coaches think of him as the next Justin Harper. I'm amazed at some of the moves he puts on the boys out there. He is a special kid. He was just overshadowed because there is so much talent on our team. Plus, he didn't play half the season last year because of a hamstring injury. I know Virginia Tech is recruiting him and he is coming up there with me for the Florida State game."