2019 Intro: Benilde-St. Margaret's John Whitmore
Brian Jerzak | The Gopher Report @brijerzak
John Whitmore (51) is a 6'2" linebacker that plays AAU basketball for Net Gain Sports and will be a four-year varsity football player at Benilde St. Margaret's.
Rick Corwine
If passion for the Minnesota Gophers' football program is enough, Benilde-St. Margarets' junior-to-be John Whitmore will be a perfect fit for the program in two years.
"Being a Minnesota kid I have always looked up to all of the Gophers football players," Whitmore said. "I have season tickets to basketball, and I go to quite a few football games. It would be a dream to play for the Gophers. I watch them every Saturday."
Whitmore's passion is matched by what he has seen from the new coaching staff.
"I loved the energy Coach Fleck, and the program has. I like the culture change. There has never been a better time to be a Gopher I think. It is a new era. Everyone is fired up; everybody loves their job and loves football,” he said.
"It was cool to see how Coach Fleck interacts with everybody. He is trying to make everyone better and tries to make a connection with everybody."
Because of his age, the Gophers can only have limited contact with the linebacker, but they are not the only schools looking at the 6'2" 213-pound linebacker.
"I've been to camp at Northwestern and talked to the coaches there. I have been to camps at Iowa and Wisconsin. I might go to South Dakota later in July."
A middle linebacker, Whitmore – who also has some Ivy League schools looking at him – moved into the starting linebacker spot when one of his teammates was injured in the middle the second half of his freshman year. He never gave the job back holding down that spot last season for the 4A state champion Red Knights.
Whitmore finished his sophomore year as an All-District Honorable Mention honoree after recording 75 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and three sacks. He also played varsity as a freshman.
"I thought I had a strong sophomore year, but we had a strong defensive line that made space for the linebackers," Whitmore said. "I think I am a smart linebacker and take good angles. I read the guards well and am strong. I am able to get to my spot and wrap up my opponent."
Whitmore is a two-way player but tells TGR he’s being looked at for the next level as a linebacker.
"I am a little undersized for a guard, so I make up for it by being quick off the ball and being aggressive playing with a lot of heart and passion," Whitmore explained. "If you have heart and passion at offensive line you are going to be successful."
Whitmore is focusing on improving his lateral quickness this offseason – that is between his other two sports. He came off the bench as largely a defender and rebounder on the basketball team, and he throws the shot put and the discus on the track team.
As his skills catch up to his passion for the Minnesota Gophers, John Whitmore might end up with opportunities to get on the field for the Gophers instead of watching from the stands.
JOHN WHITMORE FILM REVIEW
Looking at Whitmore's highlights, the young linebacker seems to have many of the technical aspects of the run game down. He takes great angles and anticipates the play quickly. He is very adept at avoiding blockers without getting out of position. He demonstrated that during his two punt blocks and when he was shown coming on blitzes. I was watching a highlight package, and a couple of things were noticeably absent from the video. Outside of his pick six in the state championship game, there was very little pass coverage shown on the tape. I didn't see enough BSM games live to know if it was because teams just didn't try to throw much on the Red Knights or if Whitmore didn't have many noteworthy plays. Also, absent from the highlights is Whitmore needing to get off of blocks. Part of that might be because he was playing behind defensive lineman and Harvard commit Eric Wilson, but also shows Whitmore's need to become more physical at the point of attack. He showed good tackling technique, but the size that should come as he gets older will be the biggest factor in improving the physical part of his game.
Brian Jerzak | The Gopher Report @brijerzak
John Whitmore (51) is a 6'2" linebacker that plays AAU basketball for Net Gain Sports and will be a four-year varsity football player at Benilde St. Margaret's.
Rick Corwine
If passion for the Minnesota Gophers' football program is enough, Benilde-St. Margarets' junior-to-be John Whitmore will be a perfect fit for the program in two years.
"Being a Minnesota kid I have always looked up to all of the Gophers football players," Whitmore said. "I have season tickets to basketball, and I go to quite a few football games. It would be a dream to play for the Gophers. I watch them every Saturday."
Whitmore's passion is matched by what he has seen from the new coaching staff.
"I loved the energy Coach Fleck, and the program has. I like the culture change. There has never been a better time to be a Gopher I think. It is a new era. Everyone is fired up; everybody loves their job and loves football,” he said.
"It was cool to see how Coach Fleck interacts with everybody. He is trying to make everyone better and tries to make a connection with everybody."
Because of his age, the Gophers can only have limited contact with the linebacker, but they are not the only schools looking at the 6'2" 213-pound linebacker.
"I've been to camp at Northwestern and talked to the coaches there. I have been to camps at Iowa and Wisconsin. I might go to South Dakota later in July."
A middle linebacker, Whitmore – who also has some Ivy League schools looking at him – moved into the starting linebacker spot when one of his teammates was injured in the middle the second half of his freshman year. He never gave the job back holding down that spot last season for the 4A state champion Red Knights.
Whitmore finished his sophomore year as an All-District Honorable Mention honoree after recording 75 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and three sacks. He also played varsity as a freshman.
"I thought I had a strong sophomore year, but we had a strong defensive line that made space for the linebackers," Whitmore said. "I think I am a smart linebacker and take good angles. I read the guards well and am strong. I am able to get to my spot and wrap up my opponent."
Whitmore is a two-way player but tells TGR he’s being looked at for the next level as a linebacker.
"I am a little undersized for a guard, so I make up for it by being quick off the ball and being aggressive playing with a lot of heart and passion," Whitmore explained. "If you have heart and passion at offensive line you are going to be successful."
Whitmore is focusing on improving his lateral quickness this offseason – that is between his other two sports. He came off the bench as largely a defender and rebounder on the basketball team, and he throws the shot put and the discus on the track team.
As his skills catch up to his passion for the Minnesota Gophers, John Whitmore might end up with opportunities to get on the field for the Gophers instead of watching from the stands.
JOHN WHITMORE FILM REVIEW
Looking at Whitmore's highlights, the young linebacker seems to have many of the technical aspects of the run game down. He takes great angles and anticipates the play quickly. He is very adept at avoiding blockers without getting out of position. He demonstrated that during his two punt blocks and when he was shown coming on blitzes. I was watching a highlight package, and a couple of things were noticeably absent from the video. Outside of his pick six in the state championship game, there was very little pass coverage shown on the tape. I didn't see enough BSM games live to know if it was because teams just didn't try to throw much on the Red Knights or if Whitmore didn't have many noteworthy plays. Also, absent from the highlights is Whitmore needing to get off of blocks. Part of that might be because he was playing behind defensive lineman and Harvard commit Eric Wilson, but also shows Whitmore's need to become more physical at the point of attack. He showed good tackling technique, but the size that should come as he gets older will be the biggest factor in improving the physical part of his game.
