Whittaker ready for move to Dade

Miami-Dade County already has a solid core of athletes destined to play big-time college football in their careers, and that list keeps growing every day with transfer students such as Kenny Whittaker.

Whittaker, a member of the class of 2009, transferred from Broward's Chaminade Madonna to Miami's Columbus High to play his senior season for the Explorers.

During the move, Columbus head coach Chris Merritt, who had never seen Whittaker play, received a lot of calls about his talent level and was excited once he saw his receiver.

''He has come out and worked really hard. It's his work ethic that's helped him gain the respect of his team,'' said Merritt. ``When kids come in with a lot of hype that could be dangerous to your team. He's had a great attitude, works hard and has met all the expectations of him so far. We're excited he's here. He makes us a better football team.''

The self described Wes Welker-clone has already been contacted by Boston College, Marshall, Virginia, Texas Tech and Wisconsin but still has not made up his mind on where he's going to play college ball.

Whittaker (4.51 40-yard dash) is currently ranked 25th on the Miami Herald's Top 25 list of players in Miami-Dade county and dreams of one day playing division one college football.

At 5-11 and 175 pounds, the senior will play the slot, using his quickness to get open.

''I try to find the soft spots in the defense and play smart,'' said Whittaker.

Last season Whittaker was used in different positions, as his team needed him. He played receiver, defensive back, free safety, kick returner and punt returner.

The senior finished the season with 45 catches for 972 yards and 10 touchdowns as well as a kick return and a punt return, both for scores.

Since the start of the 2008 season Whittaker had received offers to play college football, but after a week three Pace-matchup game the trickle of colleges' interest in him turned into a stream.

During the Lions 33-28 loss to the Spartans Whittaker caught four passes for 127-yards and a touchdown as well as retuning two kicks past the 50-yard line.

The Pace game wasn't Whittaker's only big game of the season. Against North Broward Prep, Whittaker caught four passes for 147-yards and led his team to a 36-10 win.

The senior has been playing football since he was 12-years old and played in a flag football league. Whittaker's team went on to play in the Let It Fly flag football tournament with Columbus' starting quarterback Garrett Colao.

The pair enjoyed success from the start, winning nationals five consecutive times in their division.

Whittaker's first shot at varsity came in his junior year after tearing his ACL his freshman season and playing junior varsity his sophomore year.

During his first varsity game Whittaker only caught two passes for 18 yards but retuned a kick for a touchdown and was confident he had what it took to have a big season.

''In the first game I had a kick return and was like I could get used to this,'' said Whittaker. ``I just had to keep working hard, get the stats every game and just keep rolling.''

Whittaker says he loves all sports but football is his favorite. He hopes to major in communications in college and to one day be a sportswriter or a broadcaster.