University of Delaware Athletics
Kedrick Whitehead Flourishes In New Role At Safety
10/11/2019 4:57:00 PM | Football
Sophomore safety Kedrick Whitehead has turned into a tackling machine for Delaware football.
The Middletown, Delaware, native has led the Blue Hens in tackles the past two games, racking up 14 stops against Penn and 13 at Pitt. Through six weeks of the 2019 season, his 49 total tackles rank ninth in the entire FCS.
"I'm going to make all the plays that come my way," Whitehead said. "It's my job to make sure they don't score at the end of the day."
The uptick in production can be linked to Whitehead switching to the safety position this spring after playing as a "bandit" linebacker throughout high school and during his freshman year at UD, when he totaled 14 tackles through 11 games.
The bandit position goes by many names: Will linebacker, ROLB; Middletown called it the Spur. It is essentially the weak-side linebacker, who is often responsible for dropping into pass coverage like a defensive back. Because of the hybrid style of the bandit, Whitehead's transition into the safety role has been a smooth one.
"I'm actually glad I was able to play both the bandit and safety because having experience at bandit, I feel like it puts more in my toolbox…different things I can draw from," Whitehead said. "So when I'm defeating blocks, or I have to come up and play in the box a little bit, or take on an offensive lineman, it's something I'm used to, something I've done before."
While the positions have similarities, there are key differences that have unlocked Whitehead's full potential as a playmaker. At bandit, he was confined to one side of the field, and often facing immediate contact. At safety, he can roam sideline to sideline and take a beat to analyze the play before pursuing the ball.
"At Middletown, Coach Zach Blum and his staff did a great job of teaching us not only positions, but concepts. I can understand the principles and importance of setting the edge of the defense, which I did at bandit, which I did at outside linebacker."
Being from the First State, playing at Delaware Stadium holds a special significance to Whitehead.
"I came to [Delaware] football games, I was probably five, six, or seven at the time, and I never would have thought that I would be playing on the same field that these guys played on," Whitehead said. "But growing up in Delaware and knowing about Delaware, knowing about how great a school this is, and finally being able to come here myself, it's just been a seamless transition. It's been excellent for me and my family, for them to be able to come out to the games. That fuels me a lot, having my family come out and watch me play."
Along with Nolan Henderson and Will Knight, Whitehead is a part of a corps of Delaware natives making a difference on the field for the Blue Hens. He's also a part of a defense that's full of young, talented players that now have five games together as a unit under their belt. As the season rolls on, the experience of a defense matters much more than its age. The last time Delaware was on the gridiron, the defensive unit had its best performance of the season, holding ACC foe Pitt to just 17 points on the road.
"It all comes with experiences. You're not going to get that experience and that brotherhood and bonding without going through some things," Whitehead said. "It's crazy to think about how young we actually are and how good we can actually become as we get older and as we gain that experience. It's just fun to watch it all unfold, watch it come together. We're battle-tested. We've been out to Pitt, we've had a triple overtime game. I feel like we're in a great spot and it's only going to get better for us. We're only going to go up."
The Middletown, Delaware, native has led the Blue Hens in tackles the past two games, racking up 14 stops against Penn and 13 at Pitt. Through six weeks of the 2019 season, his 49 total tackles rank ninth in the entire FCS.
"I'm going to make all the plays that come my way," Whitehead said. "It's my job to make sure they don't score at the end of the day."
The uptick in production can be linked to Whitehead switching to the safety position this spring after playing as a "bandit" linebacker throughout high school and during his freshman year at UD, when he totaled 14 tackles through 11 games.
The bandit position goes by many names: Will linebacker, ROLB; Middletown called it the Spur. It is essentially the weak-side linebacker, who is often responsible for dropping into pass coverage like a defensive back. Because of the hybrid style of the bandit, Whitehead's transition into the safety role has been a smooth one.
"I'm actually glad I was able to play both the bandit and safety because having experience at bandit, I feel like it puts more in my toolbox…different things I can draw from," Whitehead said. "So when I'm defeating blocks, or I have to come up and play in the box a little bit, or take on an offensive lineman, it's something I'm used to, something I've done before."
While the positions have similarities, there are key differences that have unlocked Whitehead's full potential as a playmaker. At bandit, he was confined to one side of the field, and often facing immediate contact. At safety, he can roam sideline to sideline and take a beat to analyze the play before pursuing the ball.
"At Middletown, Coach Zach Blum and his staff did a great job of teaching us not only positions, but concepts. I can understand the principles and importance of setting the edge of the defense, which I did at bandit, which I did at outside linebacker."
Being from the First State, playing at Delaware Stadium holds a special significance to Whitehead.
"I came to [Delaware] football games, I was probably five, six, or seven at the time, and I never would have thought that I would be playing on the same field that these guys played on," Whitehead said. "But growing up in Delaware and knowing about Delaware, knowing about how great a school this is, and finally being able to come here myself, it's just been a seamless transition. It's been excellent for me and my family, for them to be able to come out to the games. That fuels me a lot, having my family come out and watch me play."
Along with Nolan Henderson and Will Knight, Whitehead is a part of a corps of Delaware natives making a difference on the field for the Blue Hens. He's also a part of a defense that's full of young, talented players that now have five games together as a unit under their belt. As the season rolls on, the experience of a defense matters much more than its age. The last time Delaware was on the gridiron, the defensive unit had its best performance of the season, holding ACC foe Pitt to just 17 points on the road.
"It all comes with experiences. You're not going to get that experience and that brotherhood and bonding without going through some things," Whitehead said. "It's crazy to think about how young we actually are and how good we can actually become as we get older and as we gain that experience. It's just fun to watch it all unfold, watch it come together. We're battle-tested. We've been out to Pitt, we've had a triple overtime game. I feel like we're in a great spot and it's only going to get better for us. We're only going to go up."
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