Rickards’ ‘ball hawk’ commits to Maryland following junior season
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BVM) — The University of Maryland was the first program to offer Rickards High School junior cornerback Lionell Whitaker a spot on their football team. This proved to work in the Terrapins’ favor, considering that Whitaker gave his verbal commitment to the team in early January.
The highly sought after 6-foot recruit for the Class of 2022 also received offers from multiple Division I programs over the past year. Boston College, Buffalo, Nebraska, Florida Atlantic, Rutgers and Tennessee were some of the schools on that list.
“The reason I chose Maryland is because I loved the energy the coaches gave me,” Whitaker said. “I think I was noticed early in my high school career because I came into high school with something to prove; that I had what it takes to make it DI”.
Most recently — following his verbal commit — West Virginia and Marshall both gave him an offer to play as well. Whitaker said he is “not surprised with getting more offers,” since he has not closed down his recruitment process yet.
Whitaker is committed to Maryland because he admires the fact that the coaches recognized him early on and made him feel like a priority. He said he knew back then that Maryland would feel like home after the Terrapins saw the potential in him at the start of his sophomore season.
His abilities on the gridiron led to the start of an early successful varsity career. During his sophomore year, Whitaker had three interceptions in a game which led him and Rickards to a 14-13 win against Sandalwood’s Jeff Sims, who is now the starting quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
It was after that game when Maryland made their offer. Ranked as the No. 61 cornerback in the nation as a 2022 recruit, Whitaker calls himself a “ball hawk” because of his abilities to jump high, constantly catch and intercept passes.
“During my junior season, I had the other team’s quarterback get scared to throw the ball to my side of the field,” Whitaker said.
“[I’ll never forget] my first game on varsity when they felt like they could throw the ball to my side,” Whitaker said. “I was a rookie and I led my team to a win with three picks.”
Whitaker’s three-star player rating is one of his biggest motivations going into his final season at Rickards.
“My senior season in high school you can expect me to move my ranking up and earn the rest of my stars by doing amazing things on the field,” Whitaker said. “You can expect the team to go back to state but this time win it.”
After finishing runner-up in the FHSAA 5A state championship last season, Whitaker said he is hoping to leave Rickards with the title before he heads to Maryland. He said he loves to not only win but he also enjoys playing the game because of how it impacts his personal life.
“The reason I play football is because it keeps me on track in life,” Whitaker said. “It also keeps me in the right surroundings and when I make it big, I want to provide for myself and my family.”
Whitaker is the most recent 2022 verbal commit to the Terps program which now features five players. Looking ahead, he has big goals for himself once he joins the Big Ten team.
“When I graduate high school I want to come in as a true freshman starter and later on in my college career be a Heisman nominee,” Whitaker said. “Later on, I want my happiest moment to be getting drafted into the NFL.”
