Published: August 25, 2006 12:44 am      

BILLS ROOKIE REVIEW: Whitner's camp has been topsy-turvy

PITTSFORD — Most training camps have their share of ups and downs for rookies, but those peaks and valleys have been extreme in Donte Whitner’s case.

The strong safety from Ohio State missed more than a week of practice due to a contract holdout, then arrived at St. John Fisher behind Matt Bowen on the depth chart.

But injuries to Bowen and Coy Wire opened a spot with the starting defensive unit, which Whitner occupied in the second preseason game.

Then came the news that Whitner had to head back to Cleveland for a personal matter, missing Tuesday’s practice. Turns out the absence was for a good reason — Whitner attended the birth of his first son, Donte Jr.

So is his head spinning yet?

Not exactly.

“I have a lot of good people around me,” Whitner said. “My parents, my grandparents, my high school coach, coach Tressel and the coaches at Ohio State. ... Some people when they get to this level, they think everything is going so fast, but I don’t feel like that. If you really want to be good, you have to be good early. You have to slow everything down, take everything as it comes and not get overwhelmed.”

That’s good news for the members of Bills Nation, as Whitner’s progress will be closely monitored this season. Marv Levy and the front office shocked most draft experts in taking Whitner with the eighth overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. With defensive tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Haloti Ngata — as well as quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler — still on the board, Whitner was considered a reach.

But the Bills coaching staff, led by Dick Jauron, believes Whitner’s ball-hawking skills will be a perfect fit for new coordinator Perry Fewell’s version of the Tampa-2 defense.

Veteran free safety Troy Vincent has worked beside Whitner for most of camp. Vincent said the best word to describe Whitner’s progress is ... well, progress.

“He’s an individual who played at the highest level you can play in college at Ohio State,” Vincent said of Whitner. “For him, it’s just terminology and playing experience. He’s getting plenty of reps. I’ve seen progression from the day he arrived.”

It’s unlikely that anything Whitner faces on the football field will be as stressful as the first few minutes after his son was born.

Donte Jr. couldn’t breathe on his own. Doctors were eventually able to get the problem corrected, though, and Papa Whitner was on his way back to Western New York.

“It was kind of hard coming back,” Whitner admitted. “(But) I had to get up and get back to work and I’ll see him (his son) soon hopefully.”

Contact Jay Skurski at 693-1000, Ext. 117.