NFL.com recently looked at some of the most versatile players in all of college football and Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead cracked the list.
Whitehead had a monster year defensively, winning the ACC's Defensive Rookie of the Year and being named as a Consensus Freshman All-American. So far this year, he's been named to some preseason teams and ESPN even cited him as a potential Heisman candidate when looking at guys in the ACC. But his work on offense also turned heads, including NFL.com, which put him in the top ten on their list of versatile standouts:
The ACC Rookie of the Year walked in as a true freshman last year and led the team in tackles (109) by a margin of 21 stops. Whitehead got a late-season look on offense, too, and ended up leading the Panthers in yards per carry (10.2), albeit on just 12 rushes. In the spring, Whitehead got reps at both of Pitt's safety positions.
In addition to his work as a running back, Whitehead also recorded a pair of catches on the year.
As noted, Whitehead got a little bit of the Tyler Boyd treatment - another player the Panthers moved around. But it was a little more special in Whitehead's case in that he played on both sides of the ball while Boyd's role 'only' changed within the offensive unit.
With a year under his belt and Boyd now gone to the NFL, one has to think that Whitehead could have even a bigger piece of the offense. Some of that is up in the air with the return of James Conner, who should warrant a lot of use. But I can see Whitehead getting more offensive snaps despite that and an already-strong running game.
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