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Name: Kielan Whitner
Position: Safety
Year: Freshman
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 196
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Ga.
High School: Mountain View
2014 Stats: Can't find any, but Whitner did play in last year's Gwinnett County All-Star Game in Georgia.
2015 Projections: Whitner is listed behind Antwan Cordy at strong safety. We probably won't see much of Whitner -- maybe he'll redshirt -- but it's possible he could be used sparingly.
How'd He Get Here: He flipped in February from Appalachian State to Syracuse. He also had yielded offers from Air Force, Army, Georgia State, Harvard, Troy and a few other schools.
What'd Recruiting Sites Say: Two stars from Rivals and 247Sports.
Money Quote: From Doug Giacone, head football coach at Mountain View:
"Kielan's a very gifted athlete. He's very diverse, playing corner or free safety for us ... Those colleges won't just be getting a great athlete, but a great person who will add value to their program."
Links Of Wonder: Whiter, or perhaps the entire class, has given quarterback and fellow Class of 2015 recruit Eric Dungey the nickname "Sunshine," it appears.
Twitterfeed: @Twitty_Whitty25
Tweets Of Wonder: Good plan.
I been grinding so hard this offseason because when @EASPORTS comes out with another NCAA I wanna be at least a 95 overall
— Kielan Whitner (@Twitty_Whitty25) May 29, 2015
What Does Shafer Think Of Him: On the possibility of Whitner playing in some nickel packages:
"(Kielan) Whitner and (Chris) Fredrick, body type-wise could learn some of those things. We truly won't know until we get them on the field, but once we get them out there we'll find some things out in a hurry."
Interesting Nugget O'Interest: Kielan's father, Keith, played minor league baseball in the Detroit Tigers organization. And his sister, Kayla, is a top-notch volleyball player. Sounds like quite the athletic family. Also, they really like first names that begin with the letter K.
Let's Get A Good Look Atcha: