West Florida has built a powerhouse Division II football program by filling its roster with transfers. The Argos had 52 players who came from a junior college or another four-year school during last year’s run to a national title.
This year’s roster already included 34 transfers heading into the week.
On Monday, West Florida added what might be the most significant Division I-A player in the program’s history.
Former Countryside standout Kee Whetzel, who quickly became a solid contributor at Oregon State, said via Twitter that he was joining the Argos.
Whetzel said he was also considering Florida Tech, Gardner-Webb, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Portland State, San Jose State and UNLV. He concentrated primarily on Division I-AA and II schools so he would not have to sit out another year after transferring.
In his first two seasons with the Beavers (2017-18), Whetzel made 65 tackles and had four sacks playing mostly as an outside linebacker.
He was switched to safety heading into last season but had trouble moving up the depth chart. He left the team in August, three weeks before the season opener, citing personal reasons.
Four months later, he entered the transfer portal.
Whetzel has had plenty of support after overcoming a difficult childhood. His mother put him and his five brothers up for adoption when he was 4. Whetzel bounced from foster home to foster home until he was adopted at age 5 by Wayne and Karla Whetzel.
The couple first adopted Kee and his younger brother, Deondre. Three years later, the Whetzels adopted older brothers Brian and Trey. They did not stop there. They adopted Josiah, the lone brother not biologically related to Kee and the rest. Kee’s two other brothers were adopted by a local family.
