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#55 Cody Whitehair |
Position: Offensive Line Previous College: None Projection: Starter Status: On Scholarship |
Cody Michael Whitehair (b. July 11, 1992) is a strong left tackle who is regarded as one of the best and most versatile offensive linemen in the Big 12 Conference. He has started 38 of his 39 career games.
Whitehair, who has been voted a player representative for the 2015 season, was a smash success in his redshirt freshman season, starting in four of the five offensive line positions and pancaking Big 12 defenders regularly.
In 2012, Whitehair played in every game, with 12 starts, on his way to honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches. He was named a freshman All-American by Phil Steele and to the ESPN.com All-Big 12 team.
Whitehair started every game in 2013 en route to second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches and Phil Steele. Steele also recognized him as a midseason All-Big 12 honoree.
After making a position switch to left tackle, Whitehair started every game in 2014 en route to second-team All-Big 12 honors from both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press.
He also was a member of the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award watch lists.
Last season, Whitehair helped K-State to tally 30 rushing touchdowns — the 10th most in school history — while the Wildcat offense ranked in the top 25 nationally in nine categories, including top-20 marks in team passing efficiency (11th), red-zone offense (14th) and passing offense (16th).
Entering this season, he is our most acclaimed player, having earned All-Big 12 accolades from all of the major preseason publications, which includes Athlon, Lindy's, Sporting News and Phil Steele. Whitehair also was named a preseason All-American by Athlon, while Lindy's named him the eighth-best offensive tackle in the nation.
For his immense size, Whitehair is athletic as hell and a total mismatch for defensive tackles, but he's too big for most defensive ends to cope with. In other words, he's a defensive line coach's nightmare and a surefire draft pick.