By Steve Patterson
The Ohio State Buckeyes were ready for the National Championship and excited going into the game according to Whaley. “The team was very excited for the National Championship game, we prepared extremely hard and wanted to go back and prove that we deserved to be there. Everyone was focused on the opportunity and we were as ready as you could be.”
The week in New Orleans allowed the players to tour the city and to see sights such as the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. But overall the team was very business like while in Louisiana. “I basically just relaxed and took in the experience in New Orleans. I did check out the French Quarters and Bourbon Street on my first night in the Big Easy. It was fun and definitely an experience I will remember the rest of my life. It was a great chance to also try different food you normally do not eat. We just had to watch the portions because we did not want to gain weight for the game. It was great to get to go somewhere I have never been before. New Orleans has done great dealing with the devastation of Katrina and made the experience as good as they could.” Whaley told us about his week leading up to the National Championship game.
The highlight of the game itself for Whaley and for most fans of the Buckeyes was Chris Wells’ touchdown run early in the first quarter. “The best moment of the game would be Beanie Wells touchdown run on the first drive of the game. My best personal experience would be playing in the game and being in my first play of the game.”
Whaley feels the team outperformed all expectations this year and was successful despite the loss in the title game. “I believe this was a very successful year. We were not expected to win our own conference let alone be back in the championship game. I am very proud to be part of this team. We never gave up and I thought we played with great class and toughness throughout the whole year. We were definitely fighters. I just wished we could have brought home the national championship for not only us and the team but for Columbus, the fans, and everyone in Ohio and the Big Ten conference. This team was great and exceeded all expectations!”
With his college career winding down, Whaley looks forward to Pro Day at Ohio State and completing his degree this winter. “I plan on staying in Columbus and training for pro day and hopefully getting some looks from some scouts and teams. I will probably get together some film and get it out there to see what some possibilities may be out there. If the NFL does not workout then I will be graduating this Winter Quarter and plan on finding a job or career and starting that.”