Jordan Whitehead Tug of War Continues Until Last Hours
by Ayo Fapohunda
Posted September 30, 2014 1:24 am
Alabama, Beaver County, Central Valley High School, Dana Holgerson, Darrelle Revis, Dravon Henry, Gateway Senior High School, James Franklin, Jordan Whitehead, pennsylvania, Robert Foster, The Ohio State University, Tyler Boyd, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Photo Courtesy of timesonline.com
In 2010, Preps was founded in the corner AD’s office at Gateway Senior High School with one goal in mind; build a platform that allowed high school athletes to seamlessly navigate through the recruiting process while identifying under the radar prospects that college coaches typically looked past. With the WPIAL as our initial platform, it was easy to garner the attention of college coaches nationwide with the immense amount of talent that was within a 25 mile radius. Within a few months we had identified 100’s of top caliber athletes that would eventually move on to earn college scholarships, but there was one in particular that college coaches couldn’t get enough of.
2010 was the year the WPIAL introduced Central Valley High School and Robert Foster to the nation. Coaches across the nation were salivating at the thought of getting their hands on the 6’3 190 pound game breaker that could turn a 10 yard loss into a Sport Center highlight in the flash of an eye. While Foster was becoming a household name in Western PA, a young 8th grader by the name of Jordan Whitehead was making a name for himself on Saturdays in the Beaver County youth leagues.
Fast forward four years and we now find ourselves back in a similar place we did two years ago when Robert Foster broke the hearts of Pitt fans when choosing the Crimson Tide over joining forces with hometown hero Tyler Boyd at University of Pittsburgh.
Taking a page from the Foster book, Whitehead has been mum throughout the process giving recruiting analysts nothing to chew on, but through various sources we have been able to gain significant insight on the subject.
We will first start with hometown University of Pittsburgh, who has stayed in the conversation, similar to Foster’s process, due to the close proximity to home and the idea of playing in front of family and friends. With the success Tyler Boyd has seen staying at home and being showcased on a national platform, Whitehead can’t help but dream about filling shoes left behind by fellow Beaver county native Darrelle Revis, that good friend Dravon Henry shunned before bolting for rival West Virginia. Pitt’s recent shortcomings on the field haven’t helped the Panthers’ cause, along with rumblings of lack of coaching ability on the defensive side of the ball. We’ll go ahead and call Pitt the Cinderella pick.
Two years ago we ran into Whitehead at the Nike football training camp hosted at The Ohio State University. After talking to Jordan and his parents, you would have thought that he was ready to hit the college book store on High St. after receiving the OSU offer and commit on the spot. After a disaster of a official visit that included a Buckeye loss and a not so adventurous night in the states capital, you could say that the Buckeyes are on the outside looking in. However, sources say Meyer has continued his relentless pursuit of Whitehead’s services and you can never underestimate the closing ability of the Urban legend. We’ll go ahead and say OSU is the wild card.
A few months ago I made my prediction on the 247 Crystal ball that Jordan Whitehead would make his commitment to Penn State. With the momentum James Franklin had with signing high profile guys it only made sense. The Franklin hype has cooled off a bit, but JF is still in hot pursuit of Whitehead and has made it clear to everyone in Happy Valley Whitehead is his #1 target. With an official visit that had it’s bubble burst with an embarrassing loss to Northwestern, Franklin still made Whitehead feel at home. With help from the PSU alum in town for homecoming, I would imagine they showed him what in means to be a Nittany Lion in Happy Valley.
West Virginia has emerged as the leader of the pack in this old school recruiting battle and some not close to the situation would scratch their heads and wonder how. The obvious storyline is the relationship he has with close friend Dravon Henry. They both dreamed of teaming up in a college defensive backfield together, and fellow Beaver Countier (just made up that word) essentially puts the icing on the cake as far as internal player relations. The story line that nobody has talked much about is that rumors have been floating around that good friend Robert Foster may be considering an exodus from Alabama if things don’t start looking positive for him soon. West Virginia would welcome Foster with open arms. The idea of Whitehead not only playing with Henry and Shell, but also adding Foster to the equation could be the straw that breaks PSU, OSU, and Pitt’s backs. It would leave Pennsylvania and Ohio college football fans teary eyed, and Dana Holgerson throwing back a cold one in celebration Friday evening.
We have been fortunate to be around Jordan enough to know his character and work ethic, and whichever school is lucky enough to reel him in will certainly have added a classy young man to their program. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to seeing him join his peers at the collegiate level.
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Alabama, Beaver County, Central Valley High School, Dana Holgerson, Darrelle Revis, Dravon Henry, Gateway Senior High School, James Franklin, Jordan Whitehead, pennsylvania, Robert Foster, The Ohio State University, Tyler Boyd, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia