"Despite his size, he had 82 tackles and nine sacks as a nose tackle… 19 tackles for loss were tied for the eighth-most nationally…. Three pass breakups…two forced fumbles….Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons can’t wait to get hold of an offensive player that can tackle…blocked first two kicks of his career in ’13…Prepared for conversion to FB with former Bengals RB Garrison Hearst"
NG Nikita Whitlock: He finished second in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Whitlock finished his career second in school history in tackles for loss with 49 and fourth in career sacks with 18.5. His nine sacks as a senior tied for the fifth most in a season. His 19 tackles for loss in 2013 marked the fourth-highest total by a Deacon in a season.
The guy is a bowling ball. Loved watching his hustle and aggression. How many Division I 5'11", 250 lb. nose guards do you know? And he was effective, too! 82 tackles, 18.5 TFLs with 9 sacks last year and did it in the ACC. He even had a 25 yd punt return. The guy is a people mover. I'd love to see what he does as a FB and on special teams. I hope he sticks at least through camp next year.
but in my 25 years of Wake football Nikita is one of my top 3-5 favorite players. He was a serious badass nose tackle that other teams seriously had no answer for. He is an endless motor guy. No idea how the transition to fullback has gone but in terms of heart and effort and loving to hit you will not find anyone better.
Yep, '93. I'm excited about Clawson and Manning...their cupboards were pretty damn bare. Both are doing great things in recruiting, esp if we can get giles in hoops. Only concern on clawson is his love for the damned read option handoff. But this year's OL was historically bad.
class of '04. More of a lurker than a poster on BBI. But agreed, Nikita was a monster for a 5'11'', 250 NT in college. And he won't be slow for a fullback...plays fast. If he was 2 inches taller and 35 pounds heavier, he's Aaron Donald.
The question mark is the adjustment to an offensive position - have no doubt about his ability to hit guys but DT and FB are obviously signficantly different. Also unsure about his hands.
Either way, love to see him in Big Blue and could be really intriguing to develop.
PEDs
NG Nikita Whitlock: He finished second in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Whitlock finished his career second in school history in tackles for loss with 49 and fourth in career sacks with 18.5. His nine sacks as a senior tied for the fifth most in a season. His 19 tackles for loss in 2013 marked the fourth-highest total by a Deacon in a season.
Most fullbacks aren't burners.
can he hit the hole and move people out of the way?
I'm hoping for better days with Clawson and Manning, but it's been a rocky start.
The question mark is the adjustment to an offensive position - have no doubt about his ability to hit guys but DT and FB are obviously signficantly different. Also unsure about his hands.
Either way, love to see him in Big Blue and could be really intriguing to develop.
Next summer we'll probably go to camp with two FB too. Maybe Hynoski and Nikita.
Michael Robinson was a QB...
Hedgecock also played alot of RB/FB in college though at UNC...Whitlock didn't see a snap on the offensive side of the ball in college.