After three serious injuries kept him off the field for a good deal of his college football career, linebacker Chris Whitaker is looking forward to leading his teammates on the field instead of from the sidelines this fall.

Whitaker made an immediate impact as a true freshman playing in 10 games and starting the final three games of the 1999 season, including a career high nine tackle performance against Texas.

Then the injuries began.

As a sophomore, Whitaker was hampered most of the season by a stress fracture in his left leg and he saw little playing time. Then as spring ball came around, Whitaker was faced with what he thought might be the end of his career as he suffered a compound fracture in the same leg.

“When I broke my leg, I didn’t think I would be able to come back,” Whitaker said. “When I was told with the new surgeries they had I could come back, I knew I would be back. I have a steel rod in my leg as we speak.”

Whitaker then tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right leg his junior year just before the Ohio game during practice.

Mark Coberley, head athletic trainer, said the broken leg happened when a player fell on Whitaker’s leg in spring practice and the ACL injury happened while a teammate was trying to block Witaker, who had his foot planted, and when he tried to move the blocker, his foot stayed planted and his ACL tore.

Witaker is healthy now though and ready to take the field with his teammates, though he won’t be under any extra pressure to perform.

“I don’t feel I have anything to prove,” Whitaker said. “Just that I’m healthy and can continue to play at the same level and show that I’m back and going to continue to be healthy.”

Outside Linebackers’ coach Demontie Cross has been impressed with Whitaker’s determination and the example he has set for the other players.

“The first thing that has impressed me would be his mental approach to coming back from the injuries,” Cross said. “He’s been injury-prone but after each injury he has had the determination to come back. He hasn’t held his head down. He’s been encouraging the younger players and been a morale booster to the players when times got tough.”

“He has led by example on how to come back from injuries,” Cross said. “You don’t get healthy sitting around. He has set a precedent. No injury should keep you off the field.”

Cross said Whitaker has had to put in a lot of hard work to come back.

“Just the compound fracture took tons of work,” Cross said. “He got more time in with the trainers than with the coaches. The rehab alone is work itself, but then he had to get back into the game again and spend time watching films. It’s like learning it all again from scratch.”

Coberley said Whitaker’s recovery has been due to his hard work.

“[The compound fracture and the torn ACL] were both serious injuries,” Coberley said. “First we had to give the leg fracture some time to heal after the rod was inserted in his tibia. After that, he did a lot of aquatic therapy, followed by lower leg exercises. Then he started returning to general body conditioning.”

Coberley said Whitaker had to go through knee reconstruction, general strengthening and aquatic therapy in addition to the typical rehabilitation exercises for his ACL injury.

“He’s done a great job,” Coberley said. “He came back a little sooner than we expected due to his hard work and determination. It takes a pretty strong person to get through one of these injuries, but it takes someone special to get through both. After the first two days he never looked back and all the credit goes to him for his hard work.”

“It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life,” Whitaker said. “I worked so hard to come back and then I tore my ACL. It made me a stronger person, though. Everything happens for a reason.”

Whitaker said being on the field and being able to work out with his teammates is what motivated him to come back.

“I wanted to feel a part of the family again,” Whitaker said. “The Lord above blessed me with the opportunity to be here.”

“He wanted to come back so he wouldn’t let his teammates down,” Cross said. “He wants to be the guy to give his all to be with them in any situation.”

Whitaker was made a team captain this year by his fellow teammates. Cross said there are several reasons why Whitaker was made captain.

“[His teammates] admired his ability to come back from injury, but it was also his presence,” Cross said. “His spirit was upbeat. He was always around, always seen and always heard. People appreciate that. He’s been there in every aspect outside of playing. That carries over over the years. He’s a guy that can lead us on and off the field. He can lead in all capacities.”

“It’s a great honor because it’s voted on by my fellow teammates,” said Whitaker, of being voted team captain. “It’s something you earn. It’s not given to you. I going to try and represent the team and Iowa State the best I can.”

Cross placed a strong emphasis on Whitaker’s efforts to give it his all.

“The entire staff appreciates Chris Whitaker,” Cross said. “We all wish guys would work as hard as Chris does. He has a determination to play the game the way the coaches want it to be played. Whitaker gives it his all every snap.”

“When I’m on the field I do whatever it takes to win,” Whitaker said. “I play the game to win.”

Whitaker said there are many people who helped come back from his injuries.

“Everybody, from my teammates to the coaches, has been great,” Whitaker said. “My family back home and my faith in God have helped me. Mark and the trainers have helped me. They all always been there for me. They didn’t let me get down and I’m very thankful for that.”

Injuries aren’t the only obstacles Whitaker has overcome.

Whitaker was raised by his grandmother in East St. Louis, Illinois and he said that staying out of trouble was not always easy, but that playing sports helped.

“Just to make it out of there was something,” Whitaker said. “You see a lot of guys that have the talent, but a lot of them don’t make it. They fall to the pressure. It was hard [to stay out of trouble], but playing sports made it easier. No one really bothered you. They knew you were playing sports and trying to accomplish something and they supported you.”

“If I didn’t study, I couldn’t go to practice,” he said. “I wanted to make my grandma proud. She raised me by herself and I wanted to represent for my family and friends.”

“Having a good family foundation and supporting cast at home has given him the strength and courage to succeed on his own,” Cross said.

He said Whitaker has grown in more ways than just football.

“He has grown as a young man,” Cross said. “His character is getting better. That is carrying him farther than any defensive snap could have. That’s what we get in [coaching] for – to help them grow as young men.”

“He’s doing well in the classroom,” he said. “We’re trying to get him out into the business world. We wish our own kids could grow up to be like him.”