Arizona Wildcats cornerback Jace Whittaker isn’t afraid to fail

Trey Griffey isn’t the only Arizona Wildcats football player whose father played professional baseball.

Sophomore Jace Whittaker’s dad, Jerry, played in the Chicago White Sox organization in the 1990s. Whereas Griffey became a wide receiver, Whittaker is a cornerback — the position that most requires a baseball player’s mindset.

Even the best hitters fail about two-thirds of the time. All top corners allow completions and/or touchdowns at times — and those lost battles are obvious to even the most casual observers.

“Nobody knows how to deal with failure,” said Jerry Whittaker, who had 32 home runs, 36 stolen bases and batted .253 in five seasons in the White Sox minor-league system. “That’s a learned process.”

Jace Whittaker learned how to deal with the ups and downs of sports from his father and older brother, J.J., a one-time Arizona commit who played defensive back at San Diego State. At an early age, Jace developed the mentality needed to play cornerback — the competitiveness and short memory required at the position.

“It’s the life of a corner,” UA cornerbacks coach Donté Williams said. “One game you could look great. And the next game, if you’re not prepared, you could look terrible. It’s an everyday grind at that position.”

Whittaker struggled at times against UCLA two Saturdays ago. But so did senior DaVonte’ Neal. The coaches elected to elevate Whittaker to the starting lineup against Utah, and he rewarded their faith.

Whittaker broke up five passes, all in the first half. One of them could have been a pick-six had it been thrown a few inches lower.

Whittaker is tied for fourth in the nation with nine total passes defensed, including one interception.

“He plays with confidence,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. “He’s really going to keep getting better once he gets another year in the weight room. I really like what I see from him.”

If he keeps developing, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Whittaker has the potential to become a long-term starter for a defense in need of building blocks. But at cornerback, you’re really only as good as your last play.

On the last Arizona defensive snap of the first half against Utah, Whittaker surrendered a 3-yard touchdown to Tyrone Smith. (Whittaker would have been called for pass interference had Smith, who’s 6-4, not made a one-handed grab.)

That’s why Williams pushes all of his corners to get better every day. In his view, Whittaker should have turned some of those PBUs (pases broken up) into INTs.

“He needs to catch some of those,” Williams said. “To me, a pass breakup is just the next down for the offense. Unless it’s a third down, it’s just a good play.”

Whittaker is used to hard coaching. Jerry Whittaker coached both of his sons in Pop Warner football, and he didn’t go easy on them.

“I wasn’t a soft dad,” Jerry said. “If you compete in something, you’re going to give it your best. If you start something, you will finish it.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Jerry didn’t fully realize it at the time, but the lessons he taught J.J. about competing and persevering resonated with Jace. He was listening.

He also played with J.J. and his friends whenever he could. Jace was 7 when Jerry first signed him up for football. Jace cried when he found out he had to play flag while his brother played tackle.

“He’s four years older than me, but my dad made sure that was never an excuse for me,” Jace Whittaker said. “I was always trying to tag along. I was always the one getting run over when we were playing tackle football. I thank him every day for it.”

J.J. preceded Jace as a multisport standout at Oceanside (California) High. Jace looked up to his brother, both on the field and off it. J.J. endured three season-ending injuries at San Diego State. He ended up applying for a sixth year of eligibility and played three full seasons.

“I think Jace learned a lot from that,” said their father, who owns a pool service and repair company in Oceanside. “He learned humility. He saw the trials and tribulations his brother was going through at that time. For his brother to keep a level head throughout all that … you’ve got to work at it. You’ve got to work hard at it.”

Jace Whittaker had his own injury issues. He hurt his knee as a senior in high school and sat out a year before enrolling at Arizona in 2015. He spent that time rehabbing, working out and watching his brother play ball.

“The cards you’re dealt, you can’t sit there and complain,” Whittaker said. “You’ve just got to make the best out of everything.”

Speaking of cards, Jace keeps one of his dad’s old baseball cards in his locker for inspiration. The two talked last week when Jace suspected he might start.

“They’re going to come at you,” Jerry warned him. “You’re new. They don’t know anything about you. You have to prove yourself.”

“I know, Dad,” Jace responded. “I’m prepared.”

“I think,” Jerry said later, “he held his own.”

He did. Now Jace Whittaker is prepping for what’s next: Saturday’s game against USC, which features a deep, talented group of receivers let by All-American JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“Jace has definitely come a long way,” Griffey said. “He just missed a pick on Saturday.

“He was in the right area at the right time. He’ll definitely make that correction.”

You’d expect nothing less from a ballplayer’s son.