Terrence Whitehead attended Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California where he played running back and safety on the football team. He finished his final season with 700 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns to go along with 600 receiving yards and 7 more touchdowns on offense. On defense he finished the season with 110 tackles from his safety position. He received all-city, all-area, and all-state honors for his play as a senior. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Oregon where he stepped in immediately as the backup to Onterrio Smith. He received three starts on the season when Smith went down due to injury, rushing 63 times for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 10 passes for 91 yards and another score. He started nine games as a sophomore, rushing for 737 yards on 192 attempts with 6 touchdowns. He also caught 28 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown. As a junior, Whitehead had career highs in rushing attempts (200), rushing yards (1,144), and rushing touchdowns (6). He added 44 receptions for 405 yards and 2 touchdowns. Terrence was voted “most outstanding player” by his teammates following the season. As a senior, Terrence rushed 156 times for 679 yards and 4 touchdowns. He set career highs in receptions (52), receiving yards (490), and receiving touchdowns (4).

Terrence Whitehead has a good deal of experience, having been the starting running back for Oregon over the past three seasons. He has a good combination of size and strength for a running back. He has good vision and runs hard between the tackles. His strength allows him to run through arm tackles and break tackles to gain additional yardage. He is pretty elusive in the open field. He is a great receiver out of the backfield who rarely drops a pass. Terrence is a hard worker who is always trying to improve his game and he is a solid blocker as well. Terrence lacks great speed and may have problems getting to the outside and turning the corner at the next level. Durability could be a cause for concern with Whitehead as he has had ankle and knee surgery during his time at Oregon. His experience returning kicks should help him on draft day. Terrence Whitehead doesn’t have a great deal of upside; however, he has a chance to become a solid backup at the next level and should be selected on the second day of the 2006 NFL draft