S Donte Whitner (Buffalo Bills)

[Buckskin86]

An MRI on strong safety Matt Bowen's tender lower right leg was negative. Bowen has been recovering from a bone bruise and re-aggravated the injury during practice on Monday. He's doubtful for Saturday. Jauron has handed rookie Donte Whitner, the team's top draft choice, the starting job. ... Whitner was excused from practice for a personal issue.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...61/1007/SPORTS

Congrats Donte on the starting spot....next stop Pro Bowl!!

[Buckskin86]

Published: August 25, 2006 12:46 am

BILLS ROOKIE REVIEW: Whitner's camp has been topsy-turvy

By Jay Skurski
Greater Niagara Newspapers

PITTSFORD — Most training camps have their share of ups and downs for rookies, but those peaks and valleys have been extreme in Donte Whitner’s case.

The strong safety from Ohio State missed more than a week of practice due to a contract holdout, then arrived at St. John Fisher behind Matt Bowen on the depth chart.

But injuries to Bowen and Coy Wire opened a spot with the starting defensive unit, which Whitner occupied in the second preseason game.

Then came the news that Whitner had to head back to Cleveland for a personal matter, missing Tuesday’s practice. Turns out the absence was for a good reason — Whitner attended the birth of his first son, Donte Jr.

So is his head spinning yet?

Not exactly.

“I have a lot of good people around me,” Whitner said. “My parents, my grandparents, my high school coach, coach Tressel and the coaches at Ohio State. ... Some people when they get to this level, they think everything is going so fast, but I don’t feel like that. If you really want to be good, you have to be good early. You have to slow everything down, take everything as it comes and not get overwhelmed.”

That’s good news for the members of Bills Nation, as Whitner’s progress will be closely monitored this season. Marv Levy and the front office shocked most draft experts in taking Whitner with the eighth overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. With defensive tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Haloti Ngata — as well as quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler — still on the board, Whitner was considered a reach.

But the Bills coaching staff, led by Dick Jauron, believes Whitner’s ball-hawking skills will be a perfect fit for new coordinator Perry Fewell’s version of the Tampa-2 defense.

Veteran free safety Troy Vincent has worked beside Whitner for most of camp. Vincent said the best word to describe Whitner’s progress is ... well, progress.

“He’s an individual who played at the highest level you can play in college at Ohio State,” Vincent said of Whitner. “For him, it’s just terminology and playing experience. He’s getting plenty of reps. I’ve seen progression from the day he arrived.”

It’s unlikely that anything Whitner faces on the football field will be as stressful as the first few minutes after his son was born.

Donte Jr. couldn’t breathe on his own. Doctors were eventually able to get the problem corrected, though, and Papa Whitner was on his way back to Western New York.

“It was kind of hard coming back,” Whitner admitted. “(But) I had to get up and get back to work and I’ll see him (his son) soon hopefully.”

Contact Jay Skurski at 693-1000, Ext. 117.

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/Buffa...yword=topstory

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

8/27/06

Whitner, from Glenville and Ohio State, combined with Jabari Greer on a tackle of Braylon Edwards on Edwards' first catch of the preseason and later dropped Reuben Droughns for a 3-yard loss.
Whitner, the Bills' first pick in this year's draft and No. 8 overall, started his second straight preseason game in place of the an injured Matt Bowen and made a case to be the starter.
"Everybody wants to be No. 1," Whitner said this week. "You just wait until your number is called. Hopefully that's soon. If not, I'll just wait."
But the Bills have high expectations for him.
"We drafted Donte high, and we anticipate that he's going to start," Bills coach Dick Jauron said after Monday evening's practice at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. "He's more advanced than he was a week ago and he's a studier. He likes it and he works at it all the time."
Whitner, who held out for a week in a contract dispute, has been catching up quickly.
Once I know what everyone is doing around me and I get confident in what I see and know everything from the top of my head, I'll be fine," Whitner said. "I'm learning every day."
Whitner was back in Cleveland on Tuesday -- and missed a day of practice -- to witness the birth of his first child, Donte Whitner Jr.
"It was a great experience and it was hard to come back the next day, but I have to get back to work, and I'll hopefully see him soon," Whitner said upon his return.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

8/28/06

The Bills have rookie Donte Whitner, the eighth overall pick in the draft, locked up for six years. The contracts of the players picked sixth (San Francisco's Vernon Davis), seventh (Oakland's Michael Huff) and ninth (Detroit's Ernie Sims) each were five-year deals.
Whitner was one of just a handful of first-round picks who got a signing bonus. Due to salary cap rules, most top picks this year got hefty option bonuses the second year of their contracts. Whitner got a signing bonus of $1.5 million and a $1.348 million roster bonus this year, giving him a salary cap figure of $1.92 million this season. He will get an option bonus of $8.34 million that is spread over the final five years of his contract.

[osugrad21]

Link

Whitner maintains focus on the game

Distractions haven't slowed Bills' rookie

Sal Maiorana
Staff writer

(August 29, 2006) — ORCHARD PARK — Given what rookie Donte Whitner has experienced in the last few weeks, you'd think his head would be spinning faster than a golf ball struck by Tiger Woods' pitching wedge.
The eighth overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft endured a bothersome one-week holdout while his contract was being negotiated and thus missed valuable practice time in training camp.
When he finally made it to St. John Fisher College, he literally hit the ground running as he was thrust into the starting strong safety spot in his second week because Matt Bowen suffered a leg injury.
He spent some time consoling his good friend, fellow rookie and former Ohio State teammate Ashton Youboty when the latter's mother died.

And on the day of her funeral last week, Whitner couldn't be there because his son, Donte Jr., was being born nearly two months premature back in his hometown of Cleveland.
Yet through it all, Whitner has been rock solid on the field and off and it seems apparent that he will be starting when the Bills open the season at New England on Sept. 10.
"If you want to be good early, you have to take everything as it comes and not get overwhelmed," Whitner said, explaining his philosophy for coping with all these rapid-fire events in the midst of trying to learn how to play football at the NFL level with the pressure of being a must-produce top-10 draft pick.
"I take each play and think about what I have to do on that play, and then off the field I try to stay away from all distractions. I have a lot of good people around me. My parents, my grandparents, my high school coach (Ted Ginn Sr., father of Ohio State star Ted Ginn Jr.), coach (Jim) Tressel and the coaches at Ohio State that I keep in contact with. Some people, when they get to this level, they think everything is going so fast, but I don't feel like that."
Of the contract holdout, which had everyone outside the negotiations perplexed because the draft picks around him had already been slotted and signed, Whitner said: "My thought was you have to take care of the business aspect first. I knew I would get in, and then when I got here I knew I had to get to work and pick up things fast out on the field."
As for the birth of his son, he did admit that was a little scary.

"He wasn't supposed to be born until Oct. 4, but he's doing good," the 21-year-old said of Donte Jr., who spent the first 20 minutes of his life with a tube down his throat to help him breathe.
"He's four pounds, seven ounces, but he's breathing on his own and his lungs are good. If you were to look at him you wouldn't think he was premature. It was hard coming back, and I don't know when I'll be able to see him again, so that's kind of hard."
Obviously harder than it has been for the talented 5-foot-10, 204-pounder to assimilate to life in the NFL. Whitner reported to camp on Aug. 5, participated in his first practice on Aug. 7, and despite limited reps played in the preseason opener at Carolina on Aug. 12.
Predictably he struggled with his assignments against the Panthers, but when Bowen hurt his leg, Whitner moved to first string and has started the last two preseason games against Cincinnati and Cleveland.
"I was a little surprised," Whitner said of his ascension to the starting lineup. "It does show confidence and it'll make me work harder knowing that the coaches have put that trust in me.
"I just want to come out here and continue to work. I can't get complacent because I still have a lot to learn, so I'm just going to keep on working and play the best that I can."
And with increased practice time, his play was better in both games.

"I love his athleticism, but I've said this before, his overall knowledge is still lacking," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "The game is faster than it was in college and he has to catch up mentally with us because he missed some time.
"He's got excellent speed and excellent quickness. If he can put together the call on our defense, we expect some good fundamental play out of him. What we've seen on tape, his willingness and desire, all those things are there."
Veteran free safety Troy Vincent has taken Whitner under his wing and helped him get his bearings. But Vincent also said that Whitner wasn't exactly clueless as many rookies often are because he has a unique maturity about him.
"I think he's handled it just as well as you can handle it for a young man his age," Vincent said.

"He has a lot on his shoulders, a lot of high expectations, but he's been quiet and very open to constructive criticism.
"He's a talented young man and the coaches have done an excellent job of getting him prepared. The pages in the playbook are flipping every day and he's picking it up and not making mental mistakes. He knows where he fits in, he leans on his teammates, and he's getting good advice. I've seen great progress in him and I'm looking forward to playing with him."

[lilnape26]

Whitner had 6 Tkls and 1 Int. today.

[OregonBuckeye]

Originally Posted by lilnape26

Whitner had 6 Tkls and 1 Int. today.

ESPN.com lists him with 8 but they do make lots of errors.

I couldn't be happier for him. Before the draft when he wasn't getting much hype I felt like I knew this secret that they didn't. Now people are getting in on it.

[NFBuck]

Nice first game for "Lights Out". Congrats Donte!

[SanAntonioBuck]

CBS Sportsline has:

Donte Whitner, 4 solo tackles, 4 assisted tackles, 1 Int.

Great game Donte!

[osugrad21]

Scout $

9/11

Blurb about Donte's INT yesterday.

[ScarletBlood31]

A Buckeye picking off a wolverine. What else is new?

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by ScarletBlood31

A Buckeye picking off a wolverine. What else is new?

Nice observation.

[osugrad21]

Link

Simpson and Whitner Likely To Man Deep Middle
by Chris Brown, Lead Journalist Last Updated: 9/13/2006 6:04 PM ET


With Troy Vincent on injured reserve and Matt Bowen questionable for Sunday, there's a strong likelihood that a pair of rookies will be manning both safety positions for the Bills on Sunday. While it might sound like a monumental task, Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson are going in confident.
"I feel that I'm ready," said Simpson who is expected to man the free safety spot. "I feel I'm good enough to play and I have the ability to play at this level. I'm ready to show what I can do and try to help this team."
"I feel good about my personal game," said Whitner. "I'm very confident in myself."
Since the day they arrived together at One Bills Drive they have carried a strong belief in their abilities. And that didn't change even after they each got their feet wet with extended action in Week One against the Patriots.
"I believe it went alright," said Simpson of how he performed when he replaced the injured Vincent in the first quarter. "I stepped in and played alright. There were a couple of mistakes I made that I'm learning from, but I thought I played okay."
Simpson had six tackles while Whitner finished with eight takedowns and his first NFL interception. Neither of them looked overwhelmed by the situation.
"Everybody makes a big deal about being a rookie," said Whitner. "But if you're poised and you know what you're doing out there, being a rookie really means nothing. We weren't like that, we knew what to do out there. We had some mistakes, but I don't believe you can play a football game no matter who you are."
The only big play that occurred in the middle of the field against them in Week One was a 34-yard completion from Tom Brady to Ben Watson.
Part of the reason Whitner and Simpson have such an air of confidence about them is because of the college conferences in which they played. Whitner played at Ohio State while Simpson was at South Carolina.
"I feel like the SEC is one of the best conferences and it has the better athletes," said Simpson who started at safety as a freshman. "There's a lot of speed. I think it helped my game a lot."
"I did feel like it helped," said Whitner of playing in the Big Ten conference. "It's really no different from college to the NFL."
But at the same time the two rookie safeties, who were good friends prior to being drafted by Buffalo, realize teams are going to try and pick on them every week.
"Going in there we know they're probably going to try to test us a little bit," said Simpson of this week's game at Miami. "Matt Bowen told me to be ready, so we know that going into this game. So I'm just going to try to go out there and make some plays."

"We have to step up," said Whitner. "Me and Ko have to contribute. We have to get the job done."
Leonhard
Recently re-signed safety Jim Leonhard is a strong addition with Buffalo thin at free safety. He's a heady player who is well versed in defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's defensive system.
He knows how to get a secondary lined up, which might not be something Ko Simpson is fully prepared to do at this stage in his career. With the heat expected in Miami this weekend, he figures to get at least some playing time Sunday.

[Buckskin86]

Q&A: Donte Whitner
Sal Maiorana
Staff writer


(September 17, 2006) ? So you think you've had a hectic few weeks? Maybe you have, but Buffalo Bills rookie safety Donte Whitner can give you a run for your money.

Since the start of August, Whitner endured a one-week training camp holdout while his first professional football contract was being worked out. When he finally signed, he got a crash course in everything he missed and was on the field five days later for Buffalo's first preseason game at Carolina.

He drove home to Cleveland to witness the birth of his son, Donte Jr., who was born two months premature and needed a tube to assist his breathing for the first 20 minutes of his life.

Whitner shared some tears with fellow Ohio State rookie Ashton Youboty when his good friend lost his mother to cancer.

And then last week, after watching Coy Wire start the season opener at New England, Whitner entered in the first quarter and played the rest of the way and earned the starting job for this week's game in Miami.

Oh, and Whitner is also the subject of this week's Q and A:

So where were you last Saturday night when your alma mater, Ohio State, played Texas?

"I was in my room at the hotel (in Providence, R.I.) watching the game and I was going nuts. They beat us last year and now we had a chance to go to their house and beat them and stay No. 1 in the country."

Any regrets about entering the NFL draft early and not having the chance to play in that game?

"No, no regrets at all. I'm just happy for those guys down there."

What was the key to your decision to leave school early and enter the draft last April?

"Having the opportunity to compete at this level and that has always been my dream. And we had a great season last year, so if I would have come back I wouldn't have had a chance to improve my draft stock. All the guys I was used to playing with the last three years were leaving, so if I went back it would have been me and only me. It would have been good to be a leader on that team, be a captain, but I wanted to go out with the guys I came in with."

Your son, Donte Jr., was born about four weeks ago, and you were there for the birth. Have you seen him since?

"No, and it has been really hard. This is my first child and I'm missing the early stages of his life. I really want to be there with him. And he's too young to travel right now, plus he was born prematurely, so he can't come here. It's been hard, but I think I'll be able to see him in a couple weeks."

When you were growing up, was there a player who was your role model, someone you wanted to emulate?

"Probably in basketball it would be Michael Jordan. He was the greatest. I don't know anybody who doesn't grow up liking Michael Jordan with all he's accomplished. There really wasn't anyone in football, but now I look up to guys like Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins, Ed Reed, guys who have similar body stature as me and they make a lot of plays and are leaders on their teams."

You were a three-sport athlete in high school. Which one was your favorite?

"I played basketball, ran track and played football and my favorite was football. A lot of guys like basketball, and I can play basketball, but I just played to stay in shape. I liked it, but football was my game."

When you were drafted No. 8 overall, was your expectation that you were going to come in here and be a starter in Week 1?

"Yeah, I came in expecting to work hard and compete for the job and win the job. The guys I was competing against expected to win the job, and that's all I wanted to do."

How did you spend your first official in-season day off on Tuesday?

"I had a massage and went to the chiropractor, then I laid around and watched TV. I didn't want to do too much."

Are you much of an Internet surfer and if so, what sites do you like to check on?

"I'm trying to get it hooked up in my house right now. I go to NFL.com, KFFL.com, Bucknuts, which is an Ohio State site, and ESPN. I like the sports sites."

What would you consider to be your most prized material possession?

"That would have to be my ring from last year's Fiesta Bowl when we beat Notre Dame."

If you weren't playing in the NFL right now, what would you be doing?

"I'd still be in school, looking for a job somewhere, doing internships like any other college student. No particular field, just whatever pays the best."

Is there anything about you that people would be surprised if they knew?

"Well, I'm not sure. Maybe that Ted Ginn Jr., Troy Smith (both current Ohio State stars), and Pierre Woods (who plays LB for the Patriots) all went to the same high school (Glenville in Cleveland) and played on the same team."

What's the one thing that really annoys you?

"When people chew their food with their mouth open or chew their gum real loud (makes a loud chewing noise)."

I know that at Ohio State you probably have a few to choose from, but what was the most exciting game you played in during your college career?

"I'd say last year's game against Texas. That was the most exciting game, my motor was pumped up. Two good teams, it was great. We lost, but it was a big game. It was very disappointing to lose that one because we felt like we were more physical than them."

What did you think about the Bills organization before you joined the team?

"When I was a senior in high school or a freshman in college, I liked Buffalo. In 2004 when they had a good defense, I liked Buffalo and going into 2005 I picked Buffalo to win the AFC East."

SMAIORAN@DemocratandChronicle.com

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...58/1007/SPORTS

[Buckskin86]

Published: September 20, 2006 11:54 pm

BILLS: Draft doubters motivate Whitner

By John Wawrow
Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK ? Donte Whitner hasn?t forgotten how the NFL draft gurus ? and that includes you, Mel Kiper ? criticized the Buffalo Bills for selecting the strong safety too early last spring.

?You just kind of store that,? Whitner said, referring specifically to Kiper, ESPN?s longtime draft analyst. ?You want to prove those guys wrong.?

It wouldn?t be the first time.

Selected eighth overall out of Ohio State, Whitner has made a habit of overcoming low expectations ever since he was a 4-year-old growing up in Cleveland. That?s when doctors told him he would likely never walk again and, at the very best, spend most of his life partially paralyzed after Whitner was struck by a car while chasing a ball into the street.

?Yeah, they said all of those things,? Whitner said. ?But being a kid, you don?t really think about what somebody tells you, that you?re not supposed to walk again. You just do it.?

Whitner was walking shortly after spending three months in a body cast, was playing football before high school and emerged as a hard-hitting and speedy two-year starter at Ohio State before entering the draft as a junior.

Two games and two starts into his first NFL season, Whitner has not looked out of place in a young defensive unit that had seven sacks and keyed Buffalo?s 16-6 win at Miami last weekend. Rushed into a starting role after veteran Matt Bowen was hurt in training camp, Whitner has 14 tackles and one interception heading into Buffalo?s home-opener against the New York Jets on Sunday.

?He?s talented. He?s fast. He likes to play the game, and he?ll hit you,? coach Dick Jauron said. ?Those are all things that translate to our sport.?

While Jauron cautioned that Whitner is still learning, what?s impressive is how quickly the youngest player on the team?s roster ? he turned 21 in July ? has picked up the Bills defensive scheme in a relatively short period of time.

Besides missing most of Buffalo?s spring minicamps because of Ohio State?s relatively late graduation schedule, he also missed the first eight days of training camp because of stalled contract talks.

And Whitner?s development wasn?t affected after he missed another day of training camp to attend to the birth of his son, Donte Jr., last month.

?Coming from Ohio State and playing in a lot of big games has really prepared me for this level,? he said. ?I don?t really get rattled.?

Whitner speaks with a matter-of-fact, look-you-dead-in-the-eye confidence that most rookies lack. What he?s not is overconfident, rarely drawing attention to himself on or off the field.

?With Donte, he?s a very mature player. He?s young, but he?s mature,? veteran linebacker London Fletcher said.

Added defensive coordinator Perry Fewell: ?The thing about Donte is, once he gets it, he?s got it.?

Whitner credited two of his former coaches for playing key roles in his development. First there was Ted Ginn Sr. in high school, followed by Mel Tucker, the former Ohio State assistant, who?s now the Cleveland Browns defensive backs coach.

Referring to Tucker, Whitner said: ?He used to call down from the (coach?s) box and tell me, ?Go out there and make plays because you?re the best player on this field.? He always believed in me before anybody else did.?

Now it?s making believers out of everyone else who projected Whitner of being a mid-range first-round pick.

Count Ralph Wilson among the impressed. Following the Miami game, the Bills owner approached Whitner at his locker to inform the player the team made the right decision in taking him in the draft.

?He said, ?You showed them today,?? Whitner said. ?I?m not saying I?m better than anyone or anything. But for those guys to say I was a reach, I want to go out and prove myself. And at the end of the season we?ll compare and we?ll see.?

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/sport...263235414.html