Will Whitson
Will Whitson
Wins his gap play after play. Will Whitson has played for two head coaches across two seasons and two programs. In 2024 the league put his name on paper for the first time: All-Sun Belt. One game to point at: 4 tackles, 2 TFL against Arizona State — Week 2, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2024)
All-Sun Belt
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Lebby
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 3 · RecognizedR09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
All-Conference HM / 2nd team. Conference recognition has started.
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2024)
All-Sun Belt
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mississippi State | 8 | 4 | 4.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Coastal Carolina | 20 | 10 | 3.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 28 | 14 | 8.0 | 4.0 | -- | -- | -- |
How he plays
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Mississippi State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Mississippi State
Returning around him
- 2 Mississippi State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -13 net (27 in / 40 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Mississippi State · Last season: 5-8 · Talent rank #24 · 2026 recruiting class #23
DNA match
Player DNA
Two-Gap Base
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Darius Robinson’s 2022 season.
Matches Darius on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Shemar Turner's freshman season at Texas A&M (2021).
Matches Shemar on
Background
Career Honors 2025 SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week (Wk 1 at Southern Miss) 2025 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 Watch List 2025 Shrine Bowl 1000 Career Notes Played in 19 career games with 14 starts … Transferred to Mississippi State from Coastal Carolina ahead of the 2025 season … Following the 202...