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Get to know your Orange man - No. 25, SS Kielan Whitner

The sophomore is predicted to have a great season. Let's take a look at him, shall we?

By Claudia Ceva
Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Name: Kielan Whitner

Position: Stong safety

Year: Sophomore

Height: 6' 0"

Weight: 197

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Ga.

High School: Mountain View

2015 Stats: Kielan played in all 12 games on special teams as a reserve safety and recorded 33 tackles, 23 of them solo, leading all Syracuse Orange true freshmen. He was named to the All-ACC Academic Team, ACC Honor Roll, and SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll.

2016 Projections: Kielan is listed as the number-one strong safety, according to the post-spring depth chart.

How'd He Get Here?: Kielan had originally been leaning toward attending Appalachian State but flipped his decision in February of 2015 to the Orange. He also turned down offers from Air Force, Army, Georgia State, Troy, and Harvard among others.

Money Quote: Kielan, showing great maturity for a freshman, in a Daily Orange profile at the end of last season by Paul Schwedelson:

"You never want to feel like you were the one that hurt your team or made those mistakes that hurt your team," Whitner said. "...I really just focused on getting better every week from (his dismal performance against South Florida)."

Links of Wonder: The Daily Orange's Matt Schneidman profiled the battle between redshirt sophomore Rodney Williams and Kielan as part of the D.O.'s Top 10 storylines to watch this season. Schneidman says that although Kielan is listed first on the post-spring depth chart it doesn't necessarily guarantee he will start. Williams played in nine games at free safety because he was limited by an injury.

Twitterfeed: @Twitty_Whitty25

Tweets of Wonder: It would seem that Kielan is a Harry Potter fan, based on the retweet below. That definitely wins my approval!

BONUS: I'd say this is pretty solid advice for all the athletes out there:

What Does the Coaching Staff Think?: They've said nothing specific as of yet. According to junior middle linebacker Zaire Franklin, he already has a connection with both Antwan Cordy and Kielan while transitioning to the Tampa-2 defense, as stated in syracuse.com's Stephen Bailey's article:

"A lot of times, me and (safety Antwan) Cordy or me and (safety) Kielan (Whitner) can look at each other, without having to really say anything, with a couple hand gestures or something, and understand what the other person is seeing," Franklin said.

Interesting Nugget O' Interest: Kielan has a very athletic family. His father, Keith, played in the Detroit Tigers minor league system and his sister, Kayla, is a highly rated volleyball player.

Let's Get a Good Look Atcha: That's one strong dude if you ask me:

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