There’s nothing quite like Friday Night Lights.
As Meeker High School and Langston University grad Tim Whitfield sat in the bleachers of his high school stomping grounds, he said this is where the true Friday Night Lights exist.
“Small country town ball is like a true Friday night lights giving moment,” he said. “Like the town closes and everything when they coming to watch you. That’s what this was when we was playing at the time.”
Memories of playing at Meeker and Langston were strong with Whitfield, who now plays professional football for the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) in Mexico City. Especially as he was inducted into Langston’s Athlete Hall of Fame on Oct. 11.At 28, he’s one of the youngest to be inducted.
He said it’s an honor to be inducted and among the likes of Hollywood Henderson,whoplayedwiththeDallas Cowboys in the 70s and 80s and won Super Bowls with them.
“It’s just a privilege being in the Hall of Fame, because I honestly wasn’t expecting Hall of Fame status. I was really trying to shoot forAllAmerican, and that’s what I got,” he said. “God has his mysterious ways and giving you more without even asking. So that’s how amazing He is.”
One of Whitfield’s favorite memories was playing against Millwood during the 2013 season. Even though Meeker lost the game, he said it was probably the first time since his dad played in 1996 that the team had a true, full crowd.
“You talk about how truly packed out. From this goal line all the way to right here from every county watching you and then scoring the touchdown in front of the whole crowd and just hearing how loud it can get,” he said. “That moment was truly unforgettable.”
Whitfield added that he thinks about that game a lot and that they should have won. If they had, he believes with his whole heart Meeker would have beat Davis and taken the 2Astate championship.
Another game that sticks out was when Meeker beat Chandler, which was made more interesting by the fact that A.J. Woodall -- a former Lion -- was a coach for Meeker at the time. Whitfield said he learned a lot from him.
“But yeah, this would be my second most memorable thing, was when I put six touchdowns on Chandler, and you talk about a true fight. And they had a phenomenal quarterback, and everybody knows Mason Myers,” he said, before adding that playing against him was tough.
Regardless, he said he had great memories playing for Meeker, something he achieved through hard work that prepared him for playing at Langston and in the UFL.
He said going to Langston from Meeker was a bit of a culture shock for him. Coming from growing up in a predominantly white area to being surrounded by people your own age and black was different. It was also an opportunity to learn more about himself and history.
Whitfield’s first year of playing football with Langston was difficult. He had heated moments with the running back coach and transferred to OBU. After a year there, he transferred back to Langston and everything changed. He said he matured and knew what to expect, so he was locked in. He also attributes his strong junior and senior years to Coach Darryl Mason.
“At Langston, he came in 2018 and he was the reason why I had success because he’s like, ‘I see something in Tim that nobody did,’” Whitfield said, adding that he’ll always only have positive things to say about the coach.
Coach Mason let him have the ball and do what he wanted with it, creating many plays for Whitfield. The team was close to the national championships that year, but lost out to Kansas Wesleyan, which eventually won.
Whitfield enjoys playing in Mexico, saying there’s tons of NFL and Division 1 talent. The influx makes it very competitive. He’s happy to be there, but open to other opportunities. While he’s accepted that he doesn’t know if the NFL will ever come, he’s looking into possibilities within the United Football League (UFL).There’s a team in Memphis interested in him, as well as the Arlington Renegades, coached by Bob Stoops.
“So exciting news might happen this coming up spring. If not, then I’ll just keep playing where God got me at in the LFA.”