When the 2022 season ended for the Texas Longhorns they knew they'd be losing a pair of key offensive contributors inL running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.
What they didn't know, however, was whether or not receiver Jordan Whittington would also be making his way to the NFL as well. And then in January he announced that he would be returning for his fifth season at Texas.
It would be easy to assume that he returned simply to help Texas win a championship, and that likely does hold some truth. However, in a story for The Players' Tribune, Whittington opened up about why he came back.
"At first, when I’d be telling people why, I just said the normal athlete things," Whittington wrote. "We have unfinished business. I’m coming back to win the Big 12. I want to help lead our team. I can still improve on X, Y and Z. But that’s not the whole truth."
"Truth be told, I actually decided to skip the draft because I was afraid the NFL might not work out for me. I was scared about what that would mean. When it came down to it, I had to be honest with myself and realize I wasn’t ready to face the possibility that I wouldn’t be playing football next year."
For the first time in his career at Texas, Whittington was able to stay healthy for the entire season - which in turn saw him record 50 receptions for 652 yards and a touchdown, with his 652 receiving yards second to only Xavier Worthy's 760.
No one would have blamed him for capitalizing on his best season to chase an NFL dream. Instead, he's back for one more season and will once again be one of Texas' most important weapons as the Longhorns chase their conference championship aspirations.
"I made the decision to come back for one last season at Texas, so I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure it’s special," Whittington wrote. "You know all those other things I talked about when I made the decision to return to school? All of those things are absolutely still true."
"I do have unfinished business. I do want to win the Big 12. I do want to help lead the young guys on this team, and help them to understand that sometimes things aren’t going to go the way you planned, but that you can still persevere and make it through."
The story of Whittington's time as a Longhorn is nearing its final chapter, at least as a player. Whittington will always be a Longhorn and made it clear how special he wants this last season to be.
"This university, this community, being a Longhorn, it means the world to me. It’s family. So I want to ball out this coming year for all the Longhorn fans around the world," Whittington wrote.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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