By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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This is a team that remains hungry and hopeful; Kevin Whitley is a big reason why.

Kevin Whitley has done it all for Georgia Southern. He won two national championships for the powerhouse Eagles in the early 1990s, starting all four years at Georgia Southern and emerging as an All-American defensive back. Whitley, following a stellar high school coaching career, joined the Eagles’ staff in 2019, then leading the defensive backs. In late September of this season, he was named Georgia Southern’s interim head coach. From there, Whitley’s position may have changed; his passion, however, remains the same.

With the rings and resume to prove it, Whitley was one of the standouts when the Eagles were consistently one of college football’s best. Now in a time of transition, for his alma mater, Whitley remains front and center. Stepping into the spotlight of an often-underappreciated role, the move to interim head coach was both an opportunity and an obligation for this Georgia Southern great.

“The last six to eight weeks have been a blessing to me. It’s something that I didn’t see happening, but when it happened I wanted to do anything for my university. I love Georgia Southern,” he shared.

Replacing Chad Lunsford, Whitley inherited an uncertain situation, one where the Eagles still had at least eight games remaining. He, as coach with executive experience and one obviously very familiar with the program, had clear plans in place; that said, implementing new ideas, or even reinforcing old ones, can be challenging during a sudden change in leadership. Georgia Southern, when Whitley was introduced, seemingly had more questions than answers. He has helped the Eagles move forward with deliberate, determined steps.

Through it all, Whitley has maintained a collective, comprehensive focus. His priority continues to be people. Working, in some ways, as he did as an assistant not long ago, Whitley, away from all of the attention that comes with being a head coach, has made it a point to make the most of the strengths and sentiments of those around him.

“It’s really not about me,” Whitley acknowledged. “Anytime you’re an interim coach, you do come in under difficult circumstances. You can’t implement everything you would do, but you try to make subtle changes to, hopefully, get you moving in the right direction. That’s what we’ve tried to do. I don’t make any decisions by myself, got a great staff. We collaborate and try to tweak things that we think give us an oppportunity to win.”

Georgia Southern promptly won Whitley’s first game, a 59-33 triumph over Arkansas State. On Saturday, the Eagles earned their first road win of the season. Playing at Texas State, which had just defeated Louisiana-Monroe, Georgia Southern made big plays on offense, defense and special teams in a 38-30 victory. After one score losses at Troy and versus Georgia State, the win was a meaningful one for the Eagles. This is a team that remains hungry and hopeful; Whitley is a big reason why.

Progress has been part of Whitley’s purpose. His charge has come with a very real consistency and commitment. Games are still on the schedule. Goals remain in place. Georgia Southern has a special history and tradition. Whitley, even when it hasn’t been easy, has helped the Eagles continue to chase their past, present and future.

“I’m extremely proud of these guys. I think most people would think we would just roll over and quit, but that’s just not what these kids are made out,” Whitley shared. “They have been through a lot, coaching change, injuries. It’s been a ‘next man up’ mentality. Those guys have stepped in and played really well. We have played some freshmen, we’re played some walk-ons. We have seen a lot of resilience, a lot of toughness. That will continue this week. We’ve got to be ready to go. We’ll get eleven on the field and we’ll get those guys to play hard.”

The situation surrounding all that Whitley is doing is somewhat unique. Georgia Southern has already hired former Southern Cal head coach Clay Helton as the future head coach in Statesboro, a move that has received rave reviews. Helton went 46-24 with the Trojans, was introduced with a press conference on November 4th and is now working on 2022 and beyond for the Eagles. There is great excitement, around the program, but also some unknowns about the future.

In different roles, Whitley and Helton, two accomplished and respected coaches, are both leading Georgia Southern forward.

“Coach Helton has done a great job since he’s been here,” Whitley explained. “What he has done is just assess the situation and see what changes he thinks need to be made. Right now, we have not talked about anything specific. Just more of him getting a feel for the players, getting a feel for the facilities and just getting a jump on spring ball. Normally, he wouldn’t be here until after the season, so he wants to be able to evaluate players at practice. He’s able to see coaches at practice, he’s able to see players at practice.”

These early interactions, Whitley believes, will help Helton and the team hit the ground running this off-season.

“It’s only going to benefit him and benefit the players. He’s able to meet with some players and even some coaches,” Whitley added. “It’s been a win-win for everybody thus far.”

Two games on this schedule remain and they are defining ones: Senior Day against #14 BYU, the highest-ranked FBS team to ever come to Paulson Stadium, and rival Appalachian State in Boone. Saturday’s showdown with the 8-2 Cougars will come with a national spotlight. BYU, with a national championship in 1984, is a well- established college football brand. Georgia Southern is, too. After all, the Eagles, as Whitley well knows, won titles in 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999 and 2000.

This weekend will be an important one for a Georgia Southern program that expects to be on the big stage. Whitley understands the Statesboro standard as he, quite frankly, helped set it.

“Anytime you play a top 15 team, it’s a big deal. BYU is probably one of the toughest teams in the country. They are in the discussion for trying to break through to the playoff on some years. This is a real tough team,” Whitley nodded. “For Statesboro, this is our top opponent ever coming into Paulson. We should have a packed house. This is a big deal for us. But as we grow our program and get to where we want it to be, we want this just to be just another Saturday in Paulson, where we’re playing a top 15 team and we’re ready to compete at that level.”

Amidst all of the storylines, Whitley is staying true to himself and, thus, staying True Blue. The process, following a rousing win, continues. There are men to lead, there are games to win and there are expectations to reach. Whitley has been doing each at Georgia Southern for years.

“These guys are tough. I just want these guys not to quit. Don’t quit, don’t rollover, don’t make excuses. Just play and fight until we can’t fight anymore. That’s what they’ve done. It was a big win for us on the road, we haven’t played well on the road,” he concluded. “We’re going to have a packed crowd here, it’ll l be 25,000 people here. At home, senior night, how can you not play hard in that situation? That’s what we’ll do. We’ll try to get prepared the best we can and we’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”

Who knows what opportunities the future will hold. That said, expect Whitley to get after them aggressively.