Newport Harbor’s linebacker Cecil Whiteside committed to California a few weeks ago, but that didn’t stop him from showing up at Sunday’s Nike Camp at Harold Jones Field at USC.

“I went into like I’m gonna perform, not to show the coaches, but to show the kids there that even though I’m already committed, I’m still here because I love football.”

His day went well. At the conclusion he was named the “Linebacker of the Day.”

“There were six coaches and all the talk was about him,” ESPN Rise’s Greg Biggins said of Whiteside. “He was the No. 1 guy from everybody. He’s big, athletic and very quick. He really stood out.”

Guys like Whiteside show up with a rep, players asking each other is that so-and-so from such school. It comes with a price.

During one-on-one drills, the best like going against the best, and it means being called out by the top running backs.

“If you are supposed to be the best, it’s a test of your manhood,” he said. “You have to perform.”

The talent was testy, but so was the conditions. Temperatures reached into the 90s’, and Whiteside hadn’t put cleats on in three months, so it was a challenge in that regard for him.

“It went really well for not being in football shape,” he said. “I have been training in track.”

He had help in fighting through it, with all the motivation he needed around him.

“I definitely feed off them,” he said of the players. “You want to be the person who makes the big play. So when someone makes a big play, you have to make a bigger play on the next one. It goes on and on.

“To be able to compete with other great athletes. These guys are the No. 1 guys on their team. Everyone is as good as you or better. That’s the best part of it.”

More from the Nike Camp:

• Los Al’s Richardson shines bright at Nike Camp
• San Clemente’s new QB fitting in
• La Habra’s Quezada all business at Nike Camp
• Edison’s Zumwalt his harshest critic at Nike Camp

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