![]() Of course, when I asked Kodi what he figured his dad would say to him after the game, he laughed and said he was sure it”d be about blocking.Ī few minutes later, Bob Whitfield proved his son correct. “I think that last time, he was like, ”This is my opportunity. “I think that was an inspiring moment for him because as a receiver, they want the damn ball all the time… “That”s helluva way to get off the schneid - no touchdowns all year, and to make a big play at a pivotal time,” Bob Whitfield said. ![]() On Saturday: Two catches, one with momentous impact. “Technically, that ball was thrown extremely late,” Shaw said with a smile.Īs both Whitfields related, it was also a major moment for him because before this game, he had only nine receptions this season, with little major impact. 1 option on the play, and if the ball was going his way, it probably should”ve been thrown earlier.īut that”s how minor football miracles occur - something goes a little bit offline, and it takes an epic performance to pluck it back. But every time we put Kodi in, he makes a great play.”Ī large part of what made the catch instantly indelible was happenstance - Whitfield probably wasn”t the No. And (starters) Devon Cajuste and Ty Montgomery are playing great. “God bless Kodi every time we”ve given him an opportunity, he”s made a play. “I would say genetics,” Stanford coach David Shaw said, “but Bob is 6-7, 335 pounds, so I don”t think it came from Dad. There was Whitfield, a back-up receiver, reaching into the sky and pulling down a minor miracle. Stanford needed this game - after last weekend”s loss in Utah - to get back into the Rose Bowl race Stanford needed that play. Whitfield”s TD came on second-and-18 (after a big loss) and put Stanford up 10-3, giving the Cardinal a lead it would never surrender. It was an incredible moment, on a national stage, against a top-10-ranked opponent, and it also happened when Stanford and UCLA were locked in a massive defensive struggle. “It was actually being pinned by the defender,” Whitfield said. But he gave me a chance, threw it up there and I was able to bring it in with one hand.”Īs his father noted, Whitfield cupped the ball back-handed - sort of like Julius Erving before a tomahawk dunk - and also had to snatch it down quickly before safety Anthony Jefferson sailed through the area a split-second later.Īnd why didn”t he use his left hand on the catch? “I lined up out wide to the left, beat the defender one-on-one, didn”t really see the safety and I guess Hogan didn”t either.
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