Whitner studies his foes into submission
Friday, September 09, 2005
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The Texas offense, led by quarterback Vince Young, is loaded with talent, Donte Whitner said — but so is the Ohio State defense.
"I feel like everybody on this defense can make plays," said Whitner, a junior safety who returned an interception for a touchdown in the Buckeyes’ seasonopening win over Miami University. "We really feel like we have one of the best secondaries in the country. We know for sure we have one of the best linebacking corps. And our defensive line is just getting better every day.
"We really feel like we have good players, they have good players. We have good coaches, they have good coaches. We’re going to go out there on Saturday night and see who was prepared the best."
His eyes danced at that challenge, because going back to the middle of last season, Whitner has majored in preparation. He has the filled notebooks — almost two already from this season — to prove it.
A talk halfway through last year with co-defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, now defensive backs coach of the Cleveland Browns, persuaded him of the worth of such meticulous preparation.
"Coach Tucker told me, ‘If you want to be a great player, you have to do the things the other players don’t do, that the good players don’t do,’ " Whitner said. "He told me that if you get into that film room and you see what they’re doing, know what they’re doing before they do it, it slows the game down so much."
As for writing down everything he sees, "It puts it in your brain," Whitner said. "It’s really easy to remember things when you do that."
Like on his interception and 26-yard return for a touchdown, a blow just before halftime for Ohio State in its 34-14 win over Miami. It wasn’t luck. It was his preparation meeting opportunity.
"I pretty much knew the play they were going to run," Whitner said. "They went red, with four wide receivers, and they went diagonal four; that means a flat route with a curl behind it."
Translated, it meant the RedHawks were trying to get the isolated defender on that side, Whitner, to jump one receiver, leaving the other open. Whitner stepped in front of the curl receiver, he said, knowing the progression would be for the quarterback to try to hit the receiver in the flat. Then Whitner burst into the flat to make the interception and the touchdown.
Ted Ginn Jr., who has been a teammate of Whitner’s at Cleveland Glenville High School and Ohio State, wasn’t surprised Whitner made the play, just like he won’t be shocked if it happens again against Texas. Whitner, he said, has been preparing for months.
"Donte Whitner is a player; he is going to look at film, he is going to know your offense to a T," Ginn said. "He will be in the film room from the time practice lets out until they close it down. He likes to watch film, and he is going to play hard, every down."
Watching Whitner embrace the art of preparation is one of the reasons Tucker pondered long the decision to go with the Browns.
"You see a young man like that, who has tremendous athletic talent, become a student of the game, and it’s refreshing because you know you’ve gotten through," Tucker said. "It’s going to be fun to see just how good Donte can become. I’ll be keeping up with him, for sure."
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