If there was a "Who's who in Late Bloomers in America," Larry Whigham of the New England Patriots of the National Football League would likely be featured.

Whigham went from being a lowly manager for his high school football team in the late '80's to being an all-state performer at Pearl River Community College to being an exciting defender for the Patriots.

Whigham was a standout defensive back for the Wildcats in 1991, intercepting five passes for a 6-4 Pearl River team. He went on to play in the MACJC JUCO All-Star game. This was after he missed the 1990 season at PRCC when he broke his collarbone in the first scrimmage of fall practice.

"Larry was our defensive quarterback, "said Mike Humphries, PRCC interim head coach and assistant when Whigham was a Wildcat. "He was pretty intelligent on the field. He had good football sense. One main thing about him was his work ethic. He went out to the practice field everyday with the idea that he was going to get a little better."

When Whigham was in the 10th grade at Hattiesburg High, his head coach, Willie Coats, felt sorry for him.

"He was so small you didn't want him to get hurt, but I didn't want him to quit our program," Coats said. "He was a little bitty wormy kid."

Coats kept him around as a manager for two years before he became a starter his senior year. He weighed 165 pounds and played end. The Tigers made it to the Class 5A state championship game that year before losing to West Point.

"Even as a senior he was not that outstanding, but he could run," said Coats.

Whigham wasn't ready to hang up his cleats. Coats got him a tryout at Pearl River. He made the team. Coats took over the PRCC program in 1991 and made Whigham a defensive back. That's when his football career took off.

"By the time I got him at Pearl River he had picked up some size and strength," said Coats. "He was developing into a good football player. He was a late bloomer."

Few colleges sought Whigham's services after he finished at PRCC. One of them was Northeast Louisiana in Monroe, La. There he was a reserve safety his junior year and a starting cornerback his senior year. He played well enough his senior year to catch the eyes of NFL scouts.

"Larry's stock really rose in the Junior College All-Star game," said Humphreys. "His was an amazing story. Larry came to us as a little scrawny kid from Hattiesburg and bulked up to be a player." Whigham was a fourth round draft choice by the Seattle Seahawks in 1994, but was cut and claimed by the Patriots. He couldn't crack the starting lineup at New England but Coach Bill Parcells convinced him he could find a niche on special teams.

He played so well on special teams in 1996 that he was voted by his peers as the AFC Special Teams Player of the Year. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl as the AFC's special teams player in 1997. He also played in the 1997 Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers. 

Whigham played with the Chicago Bears from 2001-02 before his career ended.