Massillon native, George Whitfield Jr., always had a passion for the quarterback position.
“Quarterback is more of an identity than just signing up to play football,” Whitfield told NewsChannel5’s Lauren Brill. "I just think the position in and of itself is so rich and so dynamic in so many ways."
Despite coming from a family consisting of most defensive players, Whitfield played quarterback at Youngstown State and Tiffin University. Following his years in uniform he became more well-known for coaching the position than playing it.
His coaching career began by chance, when the mother of a fourth-grade football player asked Whitfield to train her son. Now he frequently coaches the nation’s top talent. His resume includes NFL players Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger. Currently he is training former Ohio State Buckeye Cardale Jones and former Michigan State Spartan Connor Cook. His unique drills have led some to call him the quarterback whisperer.
“We will go in the beach and the ocean because those are surfaces that are unstable surfaces, forcing those guys to get organized. We have blinded them with the eye masks.” Whitfield explained.
Cook said, “He is just a great teacher. He knows the position. He has played the position and just has a different way of teaching it.”
All along Whitfield knew he had a passion for the quarterback position but it was only when he combined that passion with coaching, he truly met his match.
The quarterback coach explained, “There is no feeling that I have come across when someone is trying to do something and you have information, passion or creativity that can help them achieve that and then you watch them go on and succeed and inspire others.”
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