High school football: Shaw has leader in QB Chandler Whittlesey
When coaches build programs, they’re looking for that player they can depend on to be a leader on and off the field.
The guy who sets the tone in practice and the weight room. The guy who shows the younger players the right way to do things.
Shaw has that in quarterback Chandler Whittlesey.
Whether he is the best player on the team or not is irrelevant, according to coach Kyle Adkins. He’s a player, not big in stature, who can do all the things a coach expects out of his leader under center.
“He does the little things well,” Adkins said. “He’s a winner. You’ve got to have a guy like that who, with a minute left on the clock and you need a touchdown, he’s gonna say, ‘OK, what’ve we got?’ That’s all you want to hear.”
Whittlesey, who threw for 1,948 yards and 17 touchdowns and ran for 603 yards and six touchdowns in 2011, has those qualities, the coach said.
He’s a guy that is always going 100 percent on the field and in the weight room. And, while they had to limit the playbook a season ago, Adkins said he has worked so hard in the offseason that they have been able to open it up more this season.
“He’s always trying to improve,” Adkins said. “He’s always looking at his mechanics.”
Adkins added that Whittlesey has added 10-15 pounds of muscle during the offseason.
And Whittlesey says all the right things, too.
“You’ve got to practice like winners and work out like winners if you want to get on the winning level,” he said. “We have to turn it up every day and be better today than we were the day before.”
Put it all together, and Adkins knows what he’s got under center.
“I think he’s the best quarterback in Class AAAA,” he said. “I told him that last week. I told our offensive line, you give him three seconds, and we can beat any team in the state.”
A confident team
Shaw’s senior cornerback Carlton Little didn’t hold back when talking about what he expected for his team in 2012.
He expects the Raiders, which he said are more disciplined and more stable, to win a lot of games.
Even some games that no one else expects them to win.
“We’re going to do a lot better this year,” he said. “There aren’t going to be anymore close games. We want to blow teams out. We’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
Shaw will face some tough opponents this season, such as Carver, Carrollton and Sandy Creek, but Little thinks those games could serve as opportunities to let everyone know the team is back.
“If we can pick up a couple of those, we’ll open a lot of eyes,” he said.
As far as what he’s going to do on defense to help the team, Little served notice that he and the rest of the defense are ready to play.
“I think our defense is the best in Columbus,” he said. “We’ve got dominant run support, and if the ball comes my way, I’m going to go get it.”
Quotable
“Defensively, I want people that are going to run, hit and get there with really, really bad intentions.”
— Kyle Adkins, Shaw coach on what he looks for in his defenders
Schedule
Aug. 30 at Northside (Columbus) (K) 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 Carver (Columbus) (K) 7 p.m.
Sept. 14 at Hardaway (K) 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 at LaGrange 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 Alexander (K) 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 12 at Sandy Creek 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Carrollton 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26 at Columbus (K) 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 3 Fayette County (K) 2 p.m.
Nov. 9 Troup County (K) 7:30 p.m.
Coming up in the Ledger-Enquirer
This is the eighth in a series previewing aspects of teams around the Bi-City area. Below, you can find links to past stories as well as which team will be next in the series.
Aug. 11 Calvary Christian
Aug. 12 Glenwood
Aug. 13 Chattahoochee County
Aug. 14 Hardaway
Aug. 15 Central-Phenix City
Aug. 16 Jordan
Aug. 17 Pacelli
Aug. 18 Shaw
Coming up next: Northside (Columbus)
— Follow David on Twitter @leprepsports. Have questions or concerns? Email him at dmitchell@ledger-enquirer.com
This story was originally published August 17, 2012 at 9:46 PM with the headline "High school football: Shaw has leader in QB Chandler Whittlesey."