BY EVA BIANCO
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — The sound of little boys laughing filled the streets of Macon, Georgia, as Jeff Whitaker Jr. and his friends played a game of street football. This was Whitaker’s first experience playing the game of football. Little did he know, it would change his life forever.
According to NCAA recruiting facts, less than 2% of collegiate athletes go on to play at the professional level. To put that into perspective, in 2014, 460,000 student-athletes were registered within the NCAA and only 9,200 of them took the field as a pro. So, what do the other 98% of student-athletes do post-graduation? Whitaker, a former Auburn University defensive lineman, has used his athletic experience in a unique way.
From 2010-2014, Whitaker got to experience some of the most iconic moments in Auburn University football history, including a national championship, the kick six and the infamous miracle at Jordan-Hare. However, it was his off-the-field experiences that carried him further.
Whitaker’s mother, Qwendolyn Brown, tragically passed away when Whitaker was 13 years old. He was burdened with the loss of someone who meant so much to him, which led him to begin playing organized football as an outlet.
“It was a stress reliever,” Whitaker said. “It was something I could channel all my energy and my anger and put it into this sport.”
He also leaned on his faith, which was instilled in him by his mother, to never give up on him-self or the people he cares about.
“My faith is my foundation because we didn’t have a lot, but we had love and faith. As I got old-er, I realized, I really had everything, because I had love and faith,” Whitaker said.
Although his childhood wasn’t filled with football pads and eye-black to start, Whitaker’s first high school football season proved successful, and he realized that he was “gonna be all right at this.” After spring and summer training, Whitaker was determined to get a starting spot.
“I remember my brother and his friend would just laugh at me. They would go, ‘Nah man, you gotta work hard, you can just go in there,’” he said.
Whitaker’s brother, Lorenzo Brown, also played for their high school team, and gave Jeff the motivation to create his own name for himself.
“I always tried to instill in him this attitude of perseverance,” Brown said. “He was always different. I just didn’t understand it at the time.”
Whitaker wanted to get out of his brother’s shadow and become his own man. After the conclusion of his first season, he bounced around but eventually landed on his feet by moving in with his aunt and uncle. As a result of the move, he transferred to his now-alma mater, Warner Robins High School.
“After my mom passed, I moved around to different homes,” he said. “I called myself a village kid. A lot of different people have been able to help me out.”
His sophomore year of high school is when offers from colleges started to roll in. As exciting as this was for Whitaker, college ball wasn’t on the forefront of his mind.
“I was more of a Brett Favre fan than a college football fan,” Whitaker explained.
After considering all the other offers he received, Whitaker decided to continue his football career by playing at the Loveliest Village on the Plains.
Although the “home away from home” feeling Auburn gave the young football star drew him closer to becoming a Tiger, it was his recruiters that sealed the deal for Whitaker.
Tracy Rocker, a former Auburn defensive lineman who is now the defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, was the key to Whitaker’s college football journey. Rocker played for Auburn in the Bo Jackson era and was the first SEC player to receive both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in the same season in 1988.
During Whitaker’s recruiting process and start with the team, Rocker became a father figure and role model Whitaker could lean on for strength.
Alongside Rocker, former Auburn Head Coach Gene Chizik also helped mold Whitaker into the man he is today.
Unfortunately, another curveball hit Whitaker as he underwent a major meniscus injury that took him off the field for 20 games during his Auburn career. At this point, Whitaker knew his only option was to grow off the field into the man and leader he knew he could become.
“I ran from leadership, and then I got hurt and had to embrace leadership,” he said.
Whitaker’s brother also expressed that Jeff was never a follower, and that his worth wasn’t defined within 100 yards.
“I’ve always told him, you’re bigger than football,” Brown said.
During the time of surgery and recovery, Brown did his best to fill the big shoes of a parent and to support Whitaker in his journey of leadership.
Whitaker graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in social work. Although Auburn set Whitaker up with a degree, he didn’t feel as prepared as he had hoped for a life without the game of football.
“I think it’s a moral obligation for the university to empower its student-athletes by positioning them and in every step to let them know what they can do,” he said.
He got an offer to play in the Canadian Football League, but he declined and decided to try his luck in Arena 1 Football in Arizona. Once again, Whitaker felt like he could do more.
“I would describe when I first got out of college as just figuring it out and not afraid to jump,” he said.
Whether it was working for FedEx, in real estate or funding for small films, Whitaker tried it all.
It wasn’t until he got a taste of managing athletes and helping troubled youth that he realized his time at Auburn wasn’t complete.
Whitaker, now 31, is currently back in college to further his education, and he plans to make his mark within Auburn University’s NIL (name, image and likeness) initiative, which allows collegiate athletes to be compensated for their brand within an athletic program.
Whitaker plans on taking his love of Auburn, two bachelor’s degrees and his student-athlete experiences to represent athletes within the NIL and emphasize how they can market themselves well. Whitaker said his main goal is to expose athletes to ideas and how those athletes can capitalize on their personality to not only bring more attention to themselves, but also the university.
“My personal belief is the NIL can help an athlete tremendously,” he said. “It’s a moral obligation by the NCAA to equip these athletes with people who have helped establish athletes’ careers.”
Although Whitaker didn’t use his athletic experiences to become a professional, he has applied what he learned in the classroom and on the field to become part of the next college football movement. This outside-the-box thinking provides potential for the 98% of college athletes who don’t end up playing professionally to use their skills for the betterment of their respective sports nationwide.