Gators receiver Trent Whittemore ended his regular season prematurely last year after suffering a broken rib and punctured lung in the Arkansas game. Despite playing in Florida’s Cotton Bowl loss to Oklahoma, he is only now reaching full strength.
Whittemore describes the injury as “one of the most painful” he’s experienced and that it lingered throughout the year. The injury took a mental toll on him as he worried about aggravating it constantly on the field. The solution was training under Nick Savage, the university’s director of football strength and conditioning.
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“I just give a huge shoutout to coach Savage,” Whittemore said to 247Sports. “He really built me back up this summer in a way that eliminated a lot of that pain. Halfway through the summer, I felt completely back to myself, working out hard, nothing was limited and then throughout fall camp I’ve been full-go the whole time without pain.”
Whittemore appeared in seven games last year prior to being injured and hauled in eight catches for 81 yards and one touchdown. With the departure of Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts, Whittemore’s return to full strength comes at a fortunate time. Jacob Copeland and Justin Shorter look to be the lead guys this year, but Whittmore can be an option in the slot.
With the injury now fully behind him, Whittemore will get plenty of opportunities to prove what he’s capable of while at “100 percent.”
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