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Provo • Jackson Cravens was admittedly surprised when Vanderbilt offered him a Division I football scholarship.

The junior is still learning the intricacies of playing defensive tackle, a position he inherited when he hit a growth spurt, blooming up to 270 pounds to complement his 6-foot-3 frame, after playing linebacker his entire life.

"That was crazy," Cravens said. "I was actually really surprised, but I was really happy with it. I mean, Vanderbilt is in the SEC — one of the best conferences — and it's an academic school."

Cravens, who maintains a cumulative 3.7 grade-point average, isn't just a budding football prospect, though. He's a deep thinker, excelling in English courses, specifically with persuasive essays. He recently wrote a compelling argument in favor of youth continuing participation in little league despite recent concerns about adverse health effects of the sport.

"I think football is great for kids because it helps them grow up and toughens them up as a little kid," Cravens said. "It helps them later in life."

However, football, for him personally, has shaped his entire life. His uncles include Kyle Whittingham, the head coach at the University of Utah, and Cary Whittingham, his own coach at Timpview, and his cousin Su'a Cravens was a former USC standout who was drafted this year in the NFL's second round by Washington.

Cary Whittingham, though, said he's just another player for the Thunderbirds, who were dealt their first loss of the season Friday against fifth-ranked Alta after blowing an 18-point second-half lead.

A self-titled "family guy" who was raised alongside three sisters, Cravens gravitated toward the male role models in his life, all of whom used football as an avenue toward success.

"It's the family way," Cary Whittingham said. "We've all been involved in football. Players and coaches. My dad coached me and Kyle, and we coached our own kids, and Kyle coached my boy."

Cravens credits Cary Whittingham with his development, and although, as while the head coach of one of the most successful prep football programs in the state enjoys seeing each one of his players accomplish their dreams, he acknowledges it was special to witness his nephew finally receive the recognition he deserved when the Commodores extended the offer.

"I think that might be a function of the relationship and how he feels for all of the other kids who played for their dad in the Whittingham family," Cary said. "You've got to give that extra effort and work that much harder. I think he's very receptive to what he's told, coming from his uncle, and he's very respectful. He's very much trying to perform."

Although Cravens is starting to climb into the recruiting limelight, he's already prepared for the emotional roller coaster the process can sometimes evolve into with the lessons passed down in his family tree.

"I really like it because no matter where we are he can always tell me what I need to be working on," Cravens said of Cary. "For example, a family dinner or something like that. He's always been by side being at Timpview, so that's really helped me."

Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

About Jackson Cravens

• Nephew of Timpview High coach Cary Whittingham and University of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham; cousin of NFL lineman Su'a Cravens.

• After growing to 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, transitioned from linebacker to defensive tackle.

• Has a 3.7 grade point average, and earned a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt, an SEC program with a reputation for good academics.