By Clara Richards, Washington University

As Andrew Whitaker puts on his football pads or lines up in the starting blocks on the track, he's an intimidating competitor even before knowing his long athletic resume: 2022 national indoor track champion in the 60-meter hurdles, CoSIDA Academic All-American, leading the Football team in interceptions, and NFF Campbell Trophy Semifinalist.

Above all else, he's brimming with confidence. It's not cockiness or complacency—it's a true self-belief. He doesn't let self-doubt get in the way as he prepares to compete; there are no 'what-ifs' for the fifth-year Biomedical Engineering Masters student as he steps out to represent Washington University in football or track and field. It's something that has propelled him to a national title as an underdog in the event.  It's helped him on the football field as he started all 11 season games as a defensive back for the Bears. His accomplishments speak for themselves: now, he'll have to trust that NFL scouts will believe in that conviction as Whitaker approaches the draft. 

Whitaker was recruited to WashU by previous Head Coach Larry Kindbom primarily as a football athlete: "My love is where football is," he said. He picked the University for the opportunity to get a world-class degree combined with the flexibility that WashU Athletics offered. In exploring his opportunities as an athlete, he found track as an outlet to keep competing all year long. "I was in love with the culture. I fell in love with the energy," he said. "It doesn't feel like practice; it feels like fun." 

That desire to compete took him to the highest stage in Division III, and becoming a national champion is a memory that will stick in Whitaker's head for a while.  He competed in the 60-meter hurdles in a final heat that Head Coach Jeff Stiles described as a David versus Goliath race. Whitaker was never the favorite coming in, but he dropped .07 seconds to record a personal best on his way to the title.

 "You can only control what you can control, but you just have to have that confidence. You've visualized it, and you've worked for it," Whitaker said. "There was just something inside me that was like, 'There's too many people counting on me for me to fail.'" Others would have crumbled under the pressure, but Whitaker soared instead, scoring an individual ten points and an additional 8 points as a member of the 4x400 relay team that netted the Bears the team title. 

The greater WashU community might only know Whitaker from his accolades, but his teammates have witnessed the constant pursuit of excellence.  Matt Moore has been Whitaker's teammate for four years, and he's learned to not be surprised by his teammate's work ethic. Moore went to the track late one evening; it was raining, and he wasn't even sure if the track team would have a season because of COVID-19. He thought he'd be the only one practicing in the cold rain, but as he walked out of the AC, Whitaker was out on the field warming up. "Compare him to Kobe Bryant—he's never going to be outworked by anybody," Moore said. "Whatever ends up happening, he's going to go into the competition knowing that he's not scared to compete against anyone." 

On a typical spring day, Whitaker sets his alarm at 5:45 for 6:30 a.m. practice. Spring football practice entails drills and a full practice running through plays; it's mentally and physically taxing as he supports and guides his teammates. By the time he heads to his morning class—the rest of his classmates stumbling out of bed—he's already been up for five hours. After the school day ends, he strolls back to the AC to track practice; after practice and lifts, he might get home by 7:30 or 8 p.m. to do his homework and do his labs. It's a schedule that barely allows him to catch his breath, but Whitaker said he prefers it that way. "You're only in college for so long, so why would you waste it?"

Whitaker came back for a fifth year after COVID-19 canceled his football and indoor track seasons, and he talked to the football coaching staff early on in his season about his goal of declaring for the NFL draft. "He's different than some of the other players that we have in just the confidence that he has in himself and his abilities," Head Football Coach Aaron Keen said. Keen has coached the athlete for one football season and saw firsthand how his athletic abilities have improved. "He's worked on his weaknesses and he's hungry to be great in everything that he does." 

Keen advised him to focus on his speed, and Whitaker was able to impress early at Missouri's Pro Day in the 40-yard dash with scouts from several NFL teams in attendance. Starting the field drills with a competitive 40-yard time allowed Whitaker to show his abilities with different testing and positional drills, which Keen said "was a testament to the work he's putting in."

After attending the pro day, the next step for Whitaker is to pique a team's interest so that he can get into a rookie camp and go head-to-head with other high-level players. Whitaker will be mostly in the dark about his options—it's wait-and-see for him, but that could also change depending on if a specific team expresses interest in him. The teams evaluate his film and see how he could fit into their rosters. They also can consider him as a free agent acquisition, which would allow him a spot in a rookie camp as well.

Last week, Whitaker was invited to the Bengals' annual workout for local prospects at Paul Brown Stadium. He was one of three defensive backs invited and got to work with Bengals' secondary coaches Robert Livingston and Charles Burks.

"On one hand, I feel really good about my chances in the NFL in general," Whitaker said. "I'm a competitor; I have the tools.The biggest box I don't check is that there's a big bias against Division III players, so that's what I'm fighting right now." While in track, there is no debate as to who is the fastest or the most talented, as a football player Whitaker acknowledged that he will have to earn the opportunity to be able to prove himself alongside Division I talent.

But Andrew Whitaker has proven that he isn't going to falter when the lights are bright. If there's a big-name receiver lined up across from him, he's not going to flinch. Going to the draft, he knows the obstacles ahead of him, but he's letting his athletic ability speak for itself. "I'm definitely underrated—an underdog, and that honestly puts a bigger chip on my shoulder," he said. "It just makes me want to work harder." Because if there's one thing his teammates know about him, it's that Andrew Whitaker will never back down from a challenge.