SE: Q&A with Former K-State OL, Bears Center Cody Whitehair

By Corbin McGuire

Cody Whitehair can be scary, both to linebackers he's trying to block and children on Halloween (more on the latter in a bit). He's also got a soft heart.

The former four-year starter on K-State's offensive line, now in his third season with the Chicago Bears, has carried both traits to the NFL. He's a frightening force on the field — third in the NFC Pro Bowl voting this week — who was also named as one of 32 nominees for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.

Whitehair has started every game since being picked in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound lineman has done so mostly at center, however, a change from his mainstay position of tackle as a Wildcat and even from his drafted position of guard.

Still, Whitehair has found success. This season, so has his team. The Bears sit at 8-4, already the team's most wins since going 8-8 in 2013, with four weeks to go. They are currently in first in the NFC North and looking to win their first conference title since 2010, when Whitehair was a senior at Abilene High School.

In between team meetings on Thursday to prepare for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, Whitehair took some time to do a phone interview with K-State Sports Extra about life in Chicago, the team's success, his Art Rooney nomination and how Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder, who announced his retirement last Sunday, fits into all of it.

SE: How's life up there?

CW: It's good. It's great, actually. I'm pumped for this weekend's game, that's for sure.

SE: This is your third season in the Windy City. Does it feel like home yet?

CW: Yeah, the people are real nice and the team is great up here, coaches are great. It's definitely a great vibe up here.

SE: This season has obviously been the best since you've been there, in terms of success. How has that added to your enjoyment of coming to work every day?

CW: It's great to come to work. The organization put a great team together, as far as players and coaches, so it makes it real easy to come to work. Always, when you're winning, it's even better. We're just trying to keep it going on the track that we're on and focusing one week at a time.

SE: Cliché Chicago question: Are you a pizza guy? And do you have a go-to pizza place up there?

CW: Lou Malnati's is my go-to. Usually on home games we always get it after the game on our way home. It's kind of our go-to.

SE: Do you have a specific pizza you get there?

CW: I like the Chicago deep dish. It's a little bit thicker crust, with a slab of sausage in there as well and cheese to top it off, and their sauce is really good, too. That's our go-to.

SE: OK, I also have to ask the Halloween video you were part of with Zach Miller because I saw it while scrolling through the Chicago Bears' Twitter feed. How much fun was that to do?

CW: (Laughs) That was really fun. We went up to (the Great America's Fright Fest) at Six Flags, which is pretty close to our facility, and they painted us all up and dressed us up. We went out and scared everyone for a while. It was great. It's always great to give back to the community, too, and interact with those people.

Beware! Monsters on the loose. @WhItehair76 and @ZMiller86 head to Fright Fest with @InsideTheBears. pic.twitter.com/u9SmAGgw57
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 31, 2018

SE: One of the main reasons I decided to reach out to you came from when I saw you were among the NFL's 32 nominees for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. What does it mean to you to be the Bears' nominee? (Tyler Lockett was nominated for the Seattle Seahawks.)

CW: It's a great honor. I'm just very humbled to be up for it. I'm glad I can represent my team like that.

SE: Sportsmanship is not something that's brought up often in the mainstream media, or by anyone, really. How do you try to practice that and why is important to you?

CW: I think it's just mainly what I represent and how I carry myself on the field. I'm always helping my teammates up, as best I can, and always doing what's best for the team. And that's just always been my mentality kind of since I got to K-State: Whatever I can do to help the team, I'm always going to do that.

SE: Was there a person, coach or mentor who instilled that in you? Where did you get that mindset?

CW: I think that's just partly how I was raised but also from Coach Snyder and his 16 Goals for Success that he preached. He tried to give his guys those tools to carry on not only in football but in your everyday lives as well. A big shout out goes to Coach Snyder for that.

SE: While we're on Coach Snyder, what was your reaction to his retirement? What does he mean to you even now, a few years removed from the program?

CW: He's where it all started, where all the tools that I have in my toolbox really began. He was the one that gave me an opportunity to come in and play at K-State. All the credit goes to him, and all the coaches I've had throughout the years. It was hard to see him leave, but I wish him nothing but the best in the future.

SE: Do you have a favorite Coach Snyder story that you think of when you reflect on his impact?

CW: Yes. I was (at K-State) that offseason after my redshirt freshman year, and I kind of got thrown into tackle. I was playing some tackle and he just always said, 'You can do it. You can do it,' and really believed in me. From then on, that kickstarted my career. That was kind of my first little hoorah with Coach Snyder.

SE: Then you went and got thrown into center in the NFL. Was there a carryover from that Coach Snyder moment into how you handle your next offensive line transition?

CW: I think so. Whatever you can set your mind to you can usually accomplish what you want to accomplish, but, like I said, I had those tools in my toolbox that K-State and the coaches, Coach (Charlie) Dickey and Coach Snyder, gave me to use. It's carried over, for sure.

SE: Community service seems to be another carryover from your time at K-State. I saw recently you helped pack boxes of food for the Salvation Army. How involved are you trying to be with the Chicago community and why is that been important for you?

CW: I've tried. Coach Snyder tried to get us to do that when I was at K-State, and this is now my community and my home, so I want to give back. I helped at the Salvation Army, I did the Halloween thing, and I've been to some local children's hospitals as well, but just to see the impact and the smile that you can bring to people's faces just by interacting with people in the community is nice. It also helps put a face with who you are because every time people see us we're usually in our helmets, so anytime we can get out there, show our face and be helpful to those people is always great.

SE: I was informed that you are also pretty involved with Youth Entrepreneurs, and that you chose it for the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats campaign. (After Week 13, more than 500 NFL players auctioned off their game-worn cleats for causes they chose.) How'd you get connected with Youth Entrepreneurs?

CW: My father-in-law actually was the first teacher to implement it into the schools at Wichita, Kansas, and now they've kind of come up to Chicago, too, and have started implementing into the city schools here. So it kind of hits home in both towns and both places that I've been. Basically they are just helping kids (learn) business models and are doing it the right way.

SE: How unique is the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats drive, considering it raises money and awareness for so many different causes at one time?

CW: It's so cool. Whether it be for illnesses or causes that people have near and dear to their hearts, for them to be able to expose that to an organization, to the world, what a great thing for us that we have on national TV so that all those charities, non-profits, whatever they are, can get some exposure.

SE: You have four weeks left in the regular season, starting with a Sunday night matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. What are you looking forward to as your team tries to finish off its push for the playoffs?

CW: We just have to take it week by week. We have some tough opponents and a couple division games to finish out the season here, so we have to take it week by week and continue to prepare the way we have. It's already been a special year, but just to finish it out the right way is going to be pretty special for us.

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Q&A with Former K-State OL, Bears Center Cody Whitehair

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