8/30/2004 football Edit

Free Sample: Whitaker impressive in scrimmage

Mark Kime

HokieHaven.com Publisher

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Germantown (Md.) Northwest quarterback Ike Whitaker continues to prepare for his season opener against Montgomery this coming weekend. Whitaker appears to have put his recruitment on hold in favor of focusing on the upcoming season, and any decision that may have been looming on the horizon may now be pushed back to later in the season.

“Nothing has really changed for me at this point,” Whitaker explained. “I’m not any closer to deciding, and I’m pretty much still focused on the same five schools. I haven’t decided if I’ll take any official visits yet before making a decision.”

As Whitaker prepares for the opener, he and his teammates have been involved in scrimmages with Eleanor Roosevelt, and most recently, Gaithersburg.

“We scrimmaged Gaithersburg this past weekend and I feel we played very well as a team,” admitted Whitaker. “Personally, I threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. I think I also had 68 yards on the ground.”

While Gaithersburg appears to be slightly easier competition than Roosevelt, Whitaker felt they held their own in their first scrimmage.

“They are a good team and we came out a little too excited to get on the field, but that’s why you scrimmage,” said Whitaker. “Our first unit played them pretty tough and we trailed 14-7 at the conclusion of the workout. The second unit played them real tough too.”

Despite wishes to take in the Hokies season opener first-hand versus the number one team in the nation in Southern Cal, Whitaker did have a chance to catch the game on TV Saturday evening.

“I watched the whole game. They came out hyped-up and I thought they played better than expected,” Whitaker said. “I thought Randall did very well running and throwing the ball. He probably could have made a few throws down the stretch, but I really don’t have much room to say that. I’ve never been under that kind of game pressure before. I’m looking forward to speaking with him down the road.”

HokieHaven.com will stay in touch with Whitaker throughout the course of the season checking in for updates on his progress on the field as well as off of it.