In football circles, the term "ball hawk" often is bestowed too loosely on a player with good defensive instincts. In this case, however, it's accurate when describing Norfolk State's Terrell Whitehead, a lean 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety who is one of the best at his position in Division I-A.

Whitehead, who is majoring in Interdisciplinary studies, is entering his senior season for the Spartans of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference hoping to rise up those NFL draft boards.

He was also a starting point guard in basketball at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach, Va., and hoops helped Whitehead sharpen his ability to see and analyze the entire football field defensively.

"That just helps on the football field being the safety," he said. "You can see the whole field. (In basketball) you have four men and with the point guard running the plays, he directs the offense. On defense the free safety directs the defense, so there's a correlation between the two."

Norfolk State defensive backs coach Marco Butler recognized quickly that Whitehead had skills beyond his years.

"Early on I could always tell he had great ball skills," he said. "He has great awareness, more so now with the [receivers'] routes and what kind of routes he's going to get to anticipate breaking on the ball."

Whitehead has tremendous foot speed laterally, not to mention a 4.56 40 time. He runs quickly downhill in an aggressive sideline-to-sideline style to wrap up his tackles. Film study (combined with that point guard experience) has improved his ability to read the keys on what the offense will be bringing his way.

"You've seen guys that can run straight ahead (quickly), but I have never seen a guy who could run sideways as quick as him as far as coming up out of the corners [of the field] and things like that, he really does that well," Butler said.

The Spartans use a 3-4 defensive scheme that utilizes a number of different rotational changes in the secondary based on opposing teams' personnel and formations. Their system puts additional pressure on the safety to make the defensive calls and slide personnel in the right position.

"It's really a good scheme for defensive backs to make a lot of plays," Butler said. "We will blitz and we could also run zone. I think it's worked out well schematically with the personnel that we have."

In that system, Whitehead was utilized as a part of a safety rotation until the final four games of his freshman year and has been a starter ever since. His style of play is similar to former cornerback teammate Don Carey, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns in April.

Whitehead led the MEAC with 55 tackles and six interceptions (sixth in I-A) in the 2007 season. In 2008, he had four interceptions, 83 tackles (seventh in the MEAC) and 15 passes defended. He is a two-time All-MEAC first teamer and was voted a two-time All American by the Sports Network. He currently is projected as late-round NFL pick in 2010.

Last season was a stellar year for the Spartans' secondary overall. The team ranked second in the nation in pass efficiency defense and fifth in total pass defense (147.8 ypg. allowed).

Camaraderie was a big part of that success, says Whitehead.

"We have a pretty tight bond," he said. "We even had a couple of transfer guys; they came in and asked how close we are. I told them that we hang out a lot and go to different places together. Camaraderie with the guys is what gets you up for Saturdays … it's like playing with your brothers."

Whitehead is a hard worker in the classroom and on the field. He prides himself on doing the work necessary to be the best at his position and winning the MEAC title. He has an exceptional backpedal and recovery speed and thus is always around the ball.

If there is one word that defines Whitehead's style of play, he said it himself. "Playmaker."

There's little doubt he will be a playmaker in his senior year for Norfolk State, but if Whitehead can add some bulk this season, he will have every chance of doing the same on Sundays in 2010.