COVER STORY: MARIO WHITNEY; FINESSE FOOTBALL AT ITS FINEST

JACKSON, Mo. -- In the two years since Mario Whitney left Atlanta, Ga., for Jackson his sophomore year, Indian Country has seen the soon-to-be Missouri Tiger do a little bit of everything on the football field.

The play-maker has scored touchdowns in every way imaginable.

He slithers, shakes, slashes and sprints -- leaving would-be tacklers grasping air.

He catches passes. He returns punts and kicks.

He plays a little defense. Heck, this summer he even took some snaps at quarterback.

But there's one thing you won't see Whitney do very often: lower his head and knock over somebody.

That avoid-contact approach has drawn criticism from many of the area's football followers who doubt the 6-foot, 188-pound speedster will be able to handle the pounding associated with Big 12 football.

Whitney, tabbed the best high school football player in the state by the St Louis Post Dispatch, is the first to admit he wants to avoid contact when running the ball.

And Jackson coach Carl Gross is the first to admit he prefers it that way.

Running scared

There's no doubt Whitney is a confident athlete.

He has special abilities and he knows it. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds and doesn't have an aw-shucks attitude about being the fastest athlete in Southeast Missouri and perhaps the state. He knows he's fast and he wants to take advantage it.

Said teammate Pete Ressler, one of Whitney's closest friends, "There's a huge misconception. Most people automatically think he's cocky. He's not like everybody thinks he is."

Still, the talkative, fun-poking Whitney is self-assured to say the least.

But once he is handed the ball on a Friday night, No. 20 runs like he's Indiana Jones trying to escape a cave with craters and boulders falling all around him.

"When I run I'm scared," he said. "That's why I move around as much as I do, trying not to take a hit."

Following instructions

Gross has coached some great running backs in his 25-year tenure. He rambles off a mental list like a grandfather bragging about all his grand children.

"Todd Wessell ...," he says. "He had great speed, but when people closed on him, he would lower his shoulder and run over you. Of course Glen Brunke and Nathan Norman would put the pedal to the medal and mash anything in their way."

On and on Gross goes, describing some of Jackson's past running backs, their styles and their impact.

But Whitney is unlike any other back who has carried the ball for the Indians. He's faster than the rest and more agile, too.

But he's only 188 pounds.

"I don't want him to get hit," Gross said. "Some say that if he breaks one for 10 yards, he could get 12 if he puts his shoulder down but I tell him not to get hit. Now I could've told Nathan or Glenn that but they were 220 pounds. They'd hunt em up just to mash em.

"But Mario avoiding contact doesn't bother me a bit. Run out of bounds, go down; we'll take another shot. He sure doesn't have to prove he's a macho man to me."

Whitney has a different way of wearing teams down, Gross said. The coach points to last year's game against Cape Central as evidence. The Tigers contained Whitney for 3 1/2 quarters. But Whitney and Jackson's offensive line kept plugging away.

Finally, Whitney got a couple of lanes and scored on runs of 81 and 76 yards as Jackson finally pulled away.

"You won't stop him forever," Gross said. "He's just a great back. Trying to tackle him is like tackling smoke."

Proof in results

Given the violent nature of football, it's hard for some to accept a finesse approach to running the football.

Said Ressler, "There's guys all the way up to 40 years old who used to play Jackson football and they think he's not good because he doesn't plow people over. They think all he is is speed. People are just jealous because they don't have his talent."

Gross agrees that many people jump at the opportunity to denounce Whitney.

"A lot of these people criticize him for not being tough," Gross said. "But I'd like to challenge them to get their old game films out. Maybe they weren't quite as tough as they remember being. But I guarantee you this: if they coached a football team, they wouldn't trade him for anything."

"Everybody doubted me my sophomore year," Whitney said. "They were like what's he doing playing here? He doesn't run people over.' They still say that. I mean, have I not proved myself enough?"

Whitney has a point.

He led Southeast Missouri in rushing yards (1,436) and touchdowns (30) last year, earning second-team all-state honors in Class 5A. He has been the most heavily recruited football player from this area in a long time. He turned down Tennessee, Nebraska and Michigan and gave Missouri an oral commitment in July.

He helped Jackson to a 9-1 season and state recognition last year, but the Indians faltered in the district championship game when Poplar Bluff shut down Whitney and the Indians and pulled off the upset.

Whitney is not the traditional Jackson running back and this team is not a typical Jackson smashmouth team.

Hitting on D'

Whitney said he wants to get the opportunity to prove he can put a lick on people, even though he tries to avoid contact when he's got the ball in his hands.

After playing nearly every game at cornerback as a 160-pound sophomore, Whitney played sparingly on defense last year.

Whitney hopes he will play more defense this year.

"People will see that I can actually hit," he said. "Every football player can hit, but there are certain degrees. Nobody's really seen me hit because I really haven't had the chance to show it.

"I'm really looking forward to it."