(Geronimo) – Navarro High School senior Brody Whitson signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his football and academic career at the United States Air Force Academy during a National Signing Day event at the Navarro Events Center on Wednesday.
Whitson was a three-year varsity starter for the Panthers, made multiple All-District teams on both sides of the ball, and was selected to play in the San Antonio All-Star game this past season season. He played a key role in Navarro advancing to the 4A Division II Region IV finals in each of the past three seasons.
Air Force is an NCAA FBS program that competes in the Mountain West. Whitson says his decision involved a number of considerations other than football.
“I think it had to be the opportunity that was granted in front of me for later on in life,” Whitson said. “The atmosphere around the Air Force Academy is really home to me, and it feels like another place where I can just be myself and prosper for later on in life.”
Whitson was a two-way starter as a junior and senior at Navarro. He rushed for over 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2020 as a running-back in the Panthers’ Slot-T offense and had a combined 783 yards rushing and receiving with eight scores during an injury-shortened senior season last fall.
Air Force recruited Whitson for his skills on the defensive side of the ball. He’s listed at 6’2″ and 240 lbs with a 40-yard dash time of 4.7 seconds and projects as a college linebacker for the Falcons after playing defensive end as a high school senior.
Navarro head coach Rod Blount says Whitson has the versatility and work ethic to fill any role.
“He was always a hard worker and he was playing offensive tackle when I got here at the end of his eighth grade year,” Blount said. “We saw his athletic ability, we kind of moved him around a little bit to tight end and defensive end, but whenever there was a need, he always stepped up and played whatever role he had to on the team. He’s played linebacker for us, defensive end, running-back, offensive line, tight end. He’s just an unselfish kid that wanted to do what was best to help the team win.”
“To accept the challenge of going to a military academy and playing football, you’ve got to have the right mindset to even take on that challenge,” Blount continued. “I think he’s going to step up and do great. He’s got the size, he’s got the ability, and I think he’ll be great.”
Whitson has taken care of business in the classroom at Navarro as well, and earned a spot on the Academic All-State team last fall.
The opportunity to continue his athletic and academic pursuits while serving his country was too good to pass up.
“That’s really important to me,” Whitson said. “I’m going to major in aeronautical engineering, and I would like to be an officer of a general branch.”