His forearms were damp from wiping his eyes. Deep down he knew it wasn’t his fault, yet he continued to blame himself.
In the waning minutes of the 2017 Georgia High School Association 3A final, Noah Whittington and the Peach County Trojans faced fourth down and eight on the 22-yard-line, trailing the Calhoun Yellow Jackets 10-6. As quarterback Antonio Gilbert dropped back, Whittington ran a wheel route down the sideline and broke free from his coverage. He seemingly hauled in Gilbert’s pass, turned up field towards the end zone and stretched his right arm out in an attempt to reach the ball over the goal-line. As his body smacked against the field, the ball popped out.
Incomplete pass, the official signaled. Turnover on downs.
Confused, Whittington flashed the official a questioning stare. The announcer’s call reflected his bewilderment.
“Gilbert. Back to pass. Has time. Throws. Caught. Stretched out. And it’s going to be.” the announcer said then paused. “Down at the 1 yard line. Noah Whittington, with a great catch.”
So he sat alone, in the crowded Mercedes-Benz Stadium locker room, pitying himself. As his head coach Chad Campbell approached him, he avoided eye contact.
“Man, I’m proud of you,” Campbell said. “Everybody in this room and everybody in the world knows you caught that football, so don’t sit there and be sad about anything.”
At the time it stung, but Campbell knew this loss could motivate Whittington and his teammates. He had the play painted as a mural in the Trojans’ weight room. During every workout, they were reminded of that bitter feeling. They stayed hungry. In 2018, they returned to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on Cedar Grove High School.
The game came down to the final minutes. Once again, it slipped just out of the Trojans’ hands.
Trailing 13-7 with 10 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Cedar Grove had third-and-goal from the 22 yard line. Quarterback Kendall Boney found wide receiver Jadon Haselwood for a game-winning touchdown.
Two games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Two agonizing losses. Whittington began to associate the stadium with a feeling of despair. As his career progressed into the collegiate level, he would return home to Georgia during the offseason to spend time with his family, train with Peach County running back coach Rickey Wray and make a visit to his old high school where he now acts as a role model to the current Trojans’ players. Each time he made that trip, he would walk into the weight room and stare down that mural. His mind would wander back to those losses in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Now, it’s been four years since he’s played in that dome.
Four years that were flooded with more moments of uncertainty surrounding his recruitment process and his role at the collegiate level. His arduous journey distracted him from those losses, pushing them into the rearview mirror. On Saturday, however, his mental toughness was tested as he returned to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This time, a member of the Oregon Ducks football team, trying to create positive memories in a place that holds spoiled ones.
His journey to return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium began in his senior year at Peach County.
Whittington put on a show.
After two years of shifting between running back and slot receiver, he took on the role of a workhorse-running-back. Inside zones. Outside counters. Screen passes. Check-downs. Pass-protection. Wildcat quarterback. He rarely took a play off.
With Whittington at the helm, the Trojans achieved an undefeated regular season. They beat Brantley County in the first round of the playoffs, before hosting a rematch with Calhoun. Campbell utilized the wildcat formation for much of the game, letting Whittington’s legs decide the outcome. The strategy proved beneficial, as the Trojans won 35-0, and Whittington went for about 280 yards, Campbell said.
One play in particular stood out to Whittington’s teammate and close friend Sergio Allen, who played tight end and linebacker for the Trojans. Allen vividly remembered Whittington turning a simple outside counter into an 80-yard touchdown.
“I was ahead of him, blocking the safety,” Allen said. “And out of nowhere, he just runs right past me. I’m trying to keep up with him, and I just can’t because he’s so fast blazing down the field.”
Despite all he accomplished at Peach County, Whittington received a miniscule number of letters from Power Five programs. Throughout the recruitment process, Campbell acted as his liaison, trying to convince top schools that Whittington’s versatility would translate to success at the collegiate level.
He received a litany of complaints. “Coach, we love him,” the scouts would say. “We’re just not looking for a smaller back.”
Campbell reached out to the University of Oregon thinking Whittington’s dual-threat nature would fit its offensive system. Nobody would bite.
So, Whittington’s decision came down to two schools: Georgia Southern, a program not far from his hometown of Fort Valley, Georgia, which deployed a triple option set –– or Western Kentucky, which operated with a balanced approach to offense at the time. He elected to attend the latter, thinking he could learn the offense during his freshman year and earn the role as the featured running back by his sophomore year.
The plan was put in place. In 2021, as his sophomore season approached, Whittington shot up the depth chart — with his intense knowledge of the running back position to thank for the leap. The Hilltoppers also acquired transfer quarterback Bailey Zappe from Houston Baptist, a dynamic passer known for his ability to stretch the field. They decided to transform the offensive playbook to accommodate Zappe’s strengths.
It caught Whittington off guard, but didn’t change his mindset. He was the lead back. The team’s needs came first.
The Hilltoppers committed to an air raid offense, attempting 697 passes, the second most in the nation, while completing a nation’s leading 480. The strategy resulted in the Hilltoppers going 8-5 in the regular season and earning a trip to the Boca Raton Bowl.
Whittington played a crucial role. His pass-protection savvy earned him the most snaps of any running back on the roster. He ran routes out of the backfield, but Zappe rarely resorted to his check-down option. His rushing opportunities came in spurts, but he maximized it, rushing the ball 101 times for 617 yards and two touchdowns. His 6.1 yards per carry was a respectable number.
Despite the heavy passing attack, Whittington found his niche at Western Kentucky. He had grown close with its newly-hired running back coach Carlos Locklyn.
In the Boca Raton Bowl game against Appalachian State, he rushed seven times for 150 yards. While the Hilltoppers led for much of the game, they recorded a 47 to 26 pass-to-run ratio. Early in the third quarter, Whittington broke free out of a disguised passing formation. Lined up in the shotgun, Zappe handed the ball to him on a draw play. He quickly burst up the middle and ran untouched in a straight line for an 86-yard touchdown.
In the end, it was a quality season, but Whittington was hoping for a chance to excel in an offense that prioritized its running game.
His performances at Western Kentucky began to draw attention from the schools that had once overlooked his abilities. Oregon wasn’t far behind, and the Ducks had just hired Locklyn as their running back coach.
Whittington questioned whether Oregon would meet his needs at first. He was content with being the lead back at Western Kentucky, although it wasn’t his preferred offensive scheme.
He thought about his options, considering the potential effect on his family and his future.
“Growing up, my Dad was sick, so just seeing my mom raise us by herself really motivated me,” Whittington said. “I got three little sisters, so I feel like my biggest motivation is trying to provide for my family.”
Ultimately, the exposure that could help him score an NFL paycheck someday, outweighed his role at Western Kentucky. He took a leap of faith and transferred.
With Locklyn leading the way at Oregon, Whittington wasted no time growing comfortable with his teammates and the Ducks’ running system. Oregon’s scheme is one that spreads the workload among the running backs, allowing each to excel at their strengths.
For Whittington, that’s his speed and downhill-running ability, which he put on display in Oregon’s spring game when he turned 11 carries into 84 yards. On Saturday, when the Ducks faced the Georgia Bulldogs, Whittington turned two of his three rushing attempts into first downs.
When Whittington returned to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the third time, he suppressed the memories of his high school shortcomings. He didn’t make his usual trip to Peach County. He didn’t come face to face with that mural. As his football career progresses, he’ll continue to act as a role model for future Trojans’ players, doing anything in his power to help them achieve what was just out of his grasp. Whittington left Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a feeling of comfort, rather than despair.
