http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/historical/423552
Whitehurst is a tall, yet mobile passer with good bloodlines. His father, David, was a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Charlie Whitehurst was a four-year starter at Clemson who bounced back in 2005 from a 2004 season that saw the entire Tigers offense struggle behind a porous offensive line. He owns forty-one school records and threw for more yardage by the end of his sophomore year (5,325) than any other passer in Atlantic Coast Conference history with the exception of North Carolina State's Philip Rivers (5,640 yards, 2000-01).
Whitehurst was a highly-recruited quarterback coming out of Chattahoochee High School. He was rated the 35th-best quarterback in the nation by Rivals100.com and the 35th-best prospect in Georgia by Super Prep. Whitehurst passed for 888 yards and eight touchdowns in only six games as a senior, missing close to half of the season due to a separated shoulder and broken thumb.
He still earned All-Southeast Region honors from Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report, was a member of the North Fulton Super 11 by Atlanta Journal and an Atlanta Touchdown Club Back-of-the-Week pick his senior year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution selected him to Georgia's top 50 and the Southern top 100. As a junior, Whitehurst passed for 1,708 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was also a four-year letterman and starter in baseball as an outfielder and first baseman.
After redshirting as a freshman at Clemson in 2001, he took over the starting quarterback duties from Willie Simmons the second half of the 2002 campaign. Whitehurst went on to complete 123 of 214 passes (57.5 percent) for 1,554 yards, ten touchdowns and six interceptions while appearing in nine contests that year. He ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 145.0 passer efficiency rating.
The 2003 season was Whitehurst's coming out party. He set school single-season records for most pass attempts (465), pass completions (288), passing efficiency (min. 300 attempts; 135.6), passing yards (3,561), most 200-yard passing games (11), most 300-yard passing games (5), most touchdown passes (21) and total offensive plays (557).
As memorable as the 2003 season was, the 2004 campaign was just as forgettable. Whitehurst would manage only seven touchdown passes while being intercepted 17 times. He hit on 177 of 349 passes (50.7 percent) for 2,067 yards and rushed for 43 yards and a score on 80 carries. In addition to his 17 interceptions, he was sacked 25 times and fumbled the ball a team-high ten times.
With the addition of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Rob Spence, Whitehurst finally found a mentor before the 2005 season. He drastically improved his accuracy, but was still prone to throwing the costly interception or getting sacked. Whitehurst completed 67.4 percent of his passes (229 of 340) for 2,483 yards and eleven touchdowns. However, he was sacked 20 times for losses of 150 yards, threw ten interceptions and fumbled five times. Whitehurst did stretch the field more often, as 36 of his pass completions were for 20 yards or longer. In 44 games with the Tigers, Whitehurst completed 817 of 1,368 passes (59.7 percent) for 9,665 yards, 49 touchdowns and 46 interceptions. He set forty-one school records, including career marks for most pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, 200-yard passing games (24) and 300-yard passing games (8). He also scored ten times while netting 98 yards on 266 carries. Whitehurst started a record 37 consecutive games for the Tigers between 2002 and 2005, but the streak ended when he did not play against Duke due to a sore shoulder. Whitehurst had surgery on Dec. 1, 2005 to correct the problem, returning to the field for his final game vs. Colorado in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Analysis
Positives: Has a tall, thick frame with room for additional growth … Good competitor who is a quiet leader, but has total control of the huddle … Steps up in the pocket to absorb the hit and is not the type who will run at the first sign of pressure … Keeps his focus on the field … Shows decent quickness in his release and adequate arm strength to make all of the throws … Shows good touch and accuracy on underneath routes … Has enough lateral agility to slide out of the pocket and throw the short ball on the move … Throws off his back foot some without a loss of force, but when he steps off his front foot, he can generate much better ball speed … Can throw from either his left or right hash with equal results … Knows how to vary the speed on his tosses in the short area, showing decent accuracy in this range … On the long ball, he knows how to give the receiver a chance to compete, putting good zip on the ball to loft it over his target's shoulders … Even when throwing from the shotgun, he shows decent fluidity in his pass drop and set up … Has a snappy overhead delivery and a fluid follow-through rather than a windmill type that most tall passers display … Good at timing his passes over the middle … Shows the body control and balance to keep the play alive while waiting for his targets to get open … Will not hesitate to stiff-arm and drive with his legs to get extra yardage when forced to run.
Negatives: Makes poor decisions with the ball, as he eyes his primary target too long and then tries to thread the needle and force passes, even when his receiver is covered … Needs to do a better of locating his secondary receivers … Has good arm strength, but his long balls tend to float and more often than not on tape, the receiver had to struggle to run underneath or work back for the pass (does not get the ball to the outside shoulder of his target) … Can move around in the pocket, but will not win any foot races when he has to tuck the ball and run with it … Better throwing out and crossing patterns, as his passes seem to lose touch when going deep … Has a tall, long-limbed frame, but needs to dedicate more hours in the weight room to add bulk and muscle tone … Has good arm strength, but sometimes fails to generate power and snap with his release … Has good overhead mechanics, but when he carries the ball low, it greatly slows down his delivery … Even when he tried to fire the ball into the numbers, he sprayed the ball going for the home run play (seems to have corrected a slight flick in his deep throws during 2005 season and was airing it out with more effectiveness) … Ball security is a big issue, as he runs with the ball too exposed, resulting in 24 fumbles over the last three years … Further medical evaluation might be needed on his surgically-repaired right shoulder (operated on Dec. 1, 2005).
Whitehurst has very good size and mobility for his position. He has above average athleticism, good feet, agility and decent quickness to go along with good production prior to 2004. He has been highly productive prior to his junior year, but he struggled throwing the deep ball in 2004 and made numerous questionable decisions that resulted in a career-high 17 interceptions. He improved somewhat in 2005, as he reduced his interceptions to ten, but he managed only eleven touchdown passes in his final season.
Whitehurst redefined his mechanics during the 2005 offseason, showing a quicker release, especially on short to intermediate throws, improving his accuracy in the process (completed 67.4 percent of his attempts). He keeps the ball up and stays on top. Whitehurst has good arm strength and throws a nice ball with touch on the intermediate routes. With a new offensive coordinator in place for 2005 in Rob Spence, Whitehurst demonstrated the release and delivery he showed in the past. He stands tall in the pocket and does a very nice job of putting zip on the ball when throwing the crossing patterns.
In 2005, it was hoped that Whitehurst would wait for defenders to clear and show more patience rather than hurry his throws like he did in the past, but ten interceptions and five fumbles did prove costly. He has the agility to move around in the pocket and shows the ability to run when the pocket collapses. However, he lacks the timed speed to win many foot races. Whitehurst tends to throw off his back foot too much and needs to revert to planting and driving off his front foot more to get better velocity behind his attempts.
Whitehurst needs to display better ball security than he did the last two years, when he fumbled nine times in 2004 and had five more as a senior. He does try to force the ball some when protection breaks down, but displays good leadership ability and toughness. He will stand in vs. the blitz and does take a lot of hits. Whitehurst has the arm strength to make all the throws (posts, flats, outs and on the move) and his overall accuracy is good, especially when going over the middle. Whitehurst is a heady passer, but needs to make better progression reads. He will get a little too brave at times, throwing the ball into traffic. However, he has the live arm to take that risk if he can maintain velocity behind his tosses. Because of the poor protection from his offensive linemen, Whitehurst barely had the time to set his feet before feeling the pressure from the pass rush in 2004. While mobile, he does not have the escapability once the pocket collapses, but showed in 2005 fall camp that he is improving his ability to reload and deliver the ball in the face of pressure. He will still commit to a route and throw blindly. Whitehurst then tries to roll out and throw on the move, but it is obvious that he is better suited for being a pocket passer. He has that lively arm, toughness and intelligence to be a good competitor, and benefited from the senior year with the team's new offensive staff. His late season shoulder injury is a concern and further medical evaluation in the coming months will determine if he is a mid-round selection or will be on the board during the later stages of the 2006 NFL Draft.
Career NotesThe NCAA Division 1-A's leading active quarterback in passing yardage prior to the 2005 season (7,142 yards), Whitehurst set a school career-record as he finished his time at Clemson with 9,665 yards, surpassing the old mark of 6,037 yards by Woodrow Dantzler (1998-2001) and ranking third in Atlantic Coast Conference annals behind Philip Rivers of North Carolina State (13,484 yards, 2000-03) and Chris Weinke of Florida State (9,839 yards, 1997-2000) … His total offense yardage of 9,763 ranks third in ACC history behind Rivers (13,582) and Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech (10,640 yards, 1996-99) … Set Clemson all-time records with 817 completions in 1,368 pass attemps, topping the previous marks of 460 completions by Dantzler and 805 attempts by Nealon Greene (1994-97) … Those totals rank third and fourth respectively in ACC history … His 59.7 pass completion percentage topped Dantzler's previous school record (57.8 percent) … Whitehurst's 49 touchdown broke Dantzler's old school all-time mark of 41 … Also holds the Tigers' all-time records for most 200-yard passing games (24), 300-yard passing games (8), touchdown passes per game (1.11), victories against Top-10 competition as a starting quarterback (7) and overtime victories as a starting quarterback (3) … His eight 300-yard passing games and twelve 300-yard total offense games, are the most of any active ACC quarterback … Started 37 consecutive games before missing the 2005 Duke contest, setting the school record for quarterbacks (previous record-holder was Tommy Kendrick, 34 from 1969-71) … His 40 total starts tied Greene (1994-97) and Rodney Williams (1985-88) as the only other Tiger quarterbacks to accomplish that feat … Had eight fourth-quarter comeback victories during his career … His pass completion percentage of 67.4 in 2004 broke the old school single-season record of 63.1 percent by Brandon Streeter in 1999.
.
