Whitener’s tackle was the play of the game
STILLWATER — Considering a rough day overall for his defense, Cowboys defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer found several individual plays to like on his side’s critical final series at Iowa State.
There was a Trey Carter sack. And backto-back denials in the passing game by Oklahoma State’s young corners, first a Rodarius Williams swat of a pass intended for Cyclones star Allen Lazard, then A.J. Green’s interception in the end zone to secure a wild 49-42 win.
Spencer’s favorite, however, is all but forgettable to the casual eye, mostly because it came on a failed fourth-down stop.
And yet, looking back, Chad Whitener’s dragdown stop of Iowa State’s David Montgomery at the OSU 4 deserves attention.
“(Montgomery’s) going to score if Chad Whitener doesn’t chase him down,” Spencer said. “I mean, it’s over.
“As much pain as that kid was in, as many reps as he played, to chase
(Montgomery) down and keep him out of the end zone, that’s the play of the game to me.”
Whitener is healthy, yet hurting. That’s the toll of an ongoing season for a middle linebacker. And it’s the tale of playing defense in the Big 12, where so many fastpaced offenses pile up plays and points.
And all those plays and points pile up on defenses, which are called on to return to the field more frequently.
The Cowboys defense looked slow and sluggish in Ames, with a slew of missed tackles hinting at a fatigued unit. While no one inside the program will openly admit it, fatigue may be setting in, offering some explanation on why a defense that seemed to be making strides through two months has suddenly leaked heavily the past two weeks, surrendering 62 points to Oklahoma and 42 to Iowa State.
The up-tempo OSU offense has run 750 plays — 100 or more than “defensive” teams like Wisconsin, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia and others. The Cowboys score fast, too, with 24 of their 56 overall touchdowns posted in two minutes or less.
So breathers are hard to find, even when the defense does get off the field. The Cowboys are thin on defense, too, with injuries robbing depth at linebacker and in the secondary.
“That’s the hand we’re dealt,” Spencer said. “It’s been like that every year. There’s a lot of snaps on their legs right now. We’re very, very fragile in some spots.
“It’s football.”
Big 12 football; and it’s different.
So the Cowboys prevail in other ways. With offense, for sure. But with takeaways, too, as OSU ranks No. 19 nationally in turnovers gained. Twice — at Texas and Iowa State — wins were secured on late interceptions in the end zone.
And sometimes they win with guts, with Whitener serving as Exhibit A.
Facing fourth-and-13 at the OSU 22, Cyclones quarterback Zeb Noland flipped a pass to Montgomery out of the backfield, well short of the first-down marker. But linebackers Justin Phillips and Calvin Bundage whiffed on tackles, freeing Montgomery to flee for the end zone.
Whitener, however, maintained the chase, finally corralling Montgomery and holding on until help arrived from Ramon Richards and Thabo Mwaniki, halting Montgomery at the 4.
Williams and Green made the highlight plays, but neither gets the opportunity if Whitener fails.
“All adrenaline,” Whitener said. “We just couldn’t lose the game like that.
“That’s what we preach to do; everybody runs to the ball until the play is over.”
Run even when you’re exhausted.
“Chad Whitener was in tears after that game,” Spencer said. “He’s got some things he’s dealing with. For him to gut it out ...”
Valerie Kelly knew her son wasn’t playing well.
Standing on the sideline in Beaverton, Oregon a couple of years ago, Valerie watched Caleb Kelly, now an OU linebacker, and could tell that something wasn’t clicking.
Caleb was competing in the 7-on-7 championships at the The Opening, a mega-recruiting event for the nation’s top prospects, and it was the worst time to struggle.
In between games, Valerie waved Caleb over and handed him the phone.
On the other end of the line was Tony Perry.
Valerie doesn't know what Perry said, but whatever it was, it worked.
Caleb responded with a pick-six in his next game.
“He had a way with these boys like nobody I’ve ever seen,” Valerie said. “He knew when to coach them up and when to give it to them.”
That was the magic of Perry, a long-time coach, mentor and adopted uncle to everyone in the football community of Fresno, California.
And it wasn’t just Fresno. Perry’s impact extended far beyond the West Coast, reaching all the way to Norman to help build the the California-to-Oklahoma recruiting pipeline, long before Caleb became a top target. Both of those communities were hit hard Saturday when they learned Tony Perry died suddenly. He was 54, and a cause of death wasn’t given.
“I don't even know if I'd be here without Tony Perry,” Caleb said after Tuesday’s practice. “That's one of my best friends. That’s the dude … He changed my life, for real.”
Caleb paused, overcome with tears.
“He changed so many guys' lives — on the west side, he changed guys on the north side,” Caleb said. “He didn't care who it was, he was going to talk to you. He always was humble about it.”
Perry, better known as ‘DB Guru’ around Fresno, coached at a couple area high schools, and he got to know even more kids through his 7-on-7 teams and personal training.
“He would just lift them up and believe in them and told them, ‘You have a future,’” Valerie said. “If kids were doing bad, he’d tell them, ‘Don’t do drugs, stay off the streets, if you need anything, you can call me.’” Dozens of his trainees like safeties T.J. McDonald and Robert Golden, both now in the NFL, went to programs like Oregon, Ari- zona and USC.
In 2002, he sent Aaron Miller to Oklahoma, connecting with Mike Stoops along the way. From there, the two formed a friendship that spanned over the next decade and a half.
Through his friendship with Mike, Perry developed a relationship with Bob Stoops that grew stronger as the Sooners began recruiting California more extensively.
“He’s a guy that was really a long-time defensive coach and shared a lot of ideas coverage with defensive backs and technique and those kinds of things,” Bob Stoops said. “Whenever we were out in that area, we would find time, whether Tony had a relationship with someone or not, to have lunch with him or see him.”
With Perry’s help, OU’s recruiting in California picked up. OU added guys like Hatari Byrd, Michiah Quick, and eventually, Kelly.
“He had a lot of great relationships out there with a lot of different families,” Bob Stoops said. “It definitely helps that he’s a guy who can vouch for you, that hey, you’re going to do what you say, and he understands your character.”
Perry also connected the Stoops brothers with Chip Viney, who was a key piece of OU’s staff as a special teams quality control coach, graduate assistant and recruiting whiz.
“That was his guy,” Bob Stoops said. “Chip was like a son to him.”
Viney, now an assistant at UNLV, found out about Perry’s death after his game Saturday, while Caleb got the news 15 minutes before taking the field against then-No. 6 TCU.
He grabbed a Sharpie and scrawled tributes to his mentor all over his wrist tape and forearms.
He wrote ‘PERRY’ on his left arm and wrist tape and ‘559,’ the Fresno area code, on his right.
“He taught me how to cover people, took me to all the camps I needed to go to, brought me here for the first time, brought me to Michigan, he got me in touch with everybody, really changed my life for real,” Caleb said. “I owe a lot to him.”