A four-star recruit who’s ranked the No. 1 defensive tackle in Pennsylvania—and seventh in the nation—Imhotep Charter’s Jahsear Whittington looks the part.
Whittington, a Pitt commit, is a tantalizing prospect. Only a junior, he already possesses the build of a Division 1 interior lineman, standing 6-foot-1 and listed at 280 lbs. He also has another year to prepare before taking the field at Acrisure Stadium, another year to improve even before he has Panthers’ defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, one of the best assistant coaches in the nation, in his ear every day.
In the moments after Imhotep lost to Pine-Richland in the 5A PIAA state championship game, Whittington said he relishes the chance of another year to hone his craft.
“I get more time to prep before I get to Pitt,” Whittington said. “I’ve gotta stay strong, just worry about the off-season, just working to perfect my craft and be better… going forward, just focus on school and getting better over the off-season.”
Whittington said he looks forward to taking on a larger leadership role in his final year at Imhotep. He’s ready to use the pain of the loss to propel himself and his teammates to new heights.
“To my seniors, I think I told them I love them. We came from so much, building [up] from the first time they stepped in the building…to now, it’s been a long journey. I’m going to be a senior next year, so the whole load is definitely gonna be on my back with this team, as me being a leader,” Whittington said. “There’s a lot of guys that’ll be stepping up next year, a lot of [underclassmen]. They know the feeling [of losing], they’ve seen it. They see how bad it is. They’ve just gotta remember the feeling.”
Whittington said he stressed the importance of playing through the final whistle to his teammates, even as the clock outran them.
“One thing I just told my guys tonight is ‘we’re gonna play every play hard, 100 percent until that clock hits zero and it’s really over,’” Whittington said. “It was hard to hold back the emotion, but I told my guys that we’re gonna go out with a bang and we’re gonna make sure we play hard. We ain’t gonna just lay down and give up…I don’t look at a loss as a loss. I just ran out of time.”
long time before signing day
As a Pitt fan I am excited to see Imhotep Charter being recruited by Pitt. With the addition of this young man he will be joining Javon McIntyre — an Imhotep alumnus and defensive back contributor — currently on Pitt’s roster. There are several more Division 1 recruits on the Imhotep roster including another young man named Woseley who are considering Pitt. It would benefit Pitt greatly to build a strong recruiting relationship with the PIAA section 12 to which Imhotep Charter is a member. In Philadelphia section 12 is the section where the best football teams and players are… Read more »