LOS ANGELES — Growing up in Cuero, a small town in Texas, with multiple brothers that are in all different walks of life — from singing to body building to a military pilot — Jordan Whittington was always surrounded by the principle that hard work and versatility pays off.

"Jordan Whittington, steady, consistent, a guy that can really do a lot of different things for us," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "He's obviously been a really good contributor on offense and in the special teams phases for us. He's one of those guys that, I think the game honors toughness, and he's one of those guys that the game honors because of the way that he plays. He's incredibly selfless, he makes the plays when he gets his opportunities, but he also gets just as excited springing a block for one of our running backs. He's a great teammate. Love everything Jordan Whittington is about."

Sure Whittington fits the cliche that every athlete has instilled in them since a young age, but this offseason before OTAs, Whittington had the chance to go back home to Texas to work out in Austin and visit family in Cuero to remind himself of where that came from.

The rejuvenation Whittington gained from returning home stemmed from the appreciation he has for the culture he was surrounded by all throughout college. Going back to his old facility at Texas, Whittington was reminded of those exact same principles that now have him staring down Year 3 in the NFL.

"One, just keeping that same dog mentality. We established a really good culture in Texas, so being able to go back and see that being established in the younger guys and knowing that that's what gets you to this point, it kind of reminds you that that's what got me here," Whittington told therams.com. "So let me continue to do that, and I think that a lot of the guys in the league that I went to college with all have that same mentality, that same makeup. So when we do go back, we're reminded, okay, this is what took to get here. So when I get back to whatever team that I am playing on, let me establish that and continue to keep that going."

As McVay noted, Whittington is always willing to do what's needed and gets amped up even if all he's doing is run blocking. At Texas, Whittington and his teammates established a culture of building that "dog mentality" — and going back to Texas reminded him where that came from and just how important that is to him.

"I've always been a tough person, but I think when I did get to Texas, the mentality changed," Whittington said. "There's a lot of guys I went to school with that we established that same mentality, same culture, and I feel like, honestly, that is just in my DNA now."

Whittington described his initial jump from growing up in Cuero to going to college at Texas as "a bigger culture shock" than going from Austin to Los Angeles to play for the Rams. And those years at Texas proved formative to the type of NFL player he is today.

Riddled by injuries early on in his his career with the Longhorns, Whittington fought through those adversities that led him to two All-Big-12 honorable mention nods in his final two seasons with Texas. Building a pro-level routine allowed him to also miss just two games in his first NFL season, and play in every single game a year ago.

One intangible Whittington attributes to his success so far in the NFL is the players he's had the opportunity to surround himself with. Not only does Whittington recognize that he's constantly surrounded by greatness, but the subsequent culture set by him and the rest of the wide receiver room in Los Angeles builds that confidence and continuation of the "dog mentality."

"I try to be as much of a sponge as I can be, and just soak all that in and try to learn everything I can," Whittington said when asked about working alongside wide receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua. "We kind of establish the culture in the room and we're super tight off the field. Like we're all really like close friends. That's awesome. So when you have that as your base, as your foundation, it makes it easier to listen to somebody, play harder for somebody, and just really trust somebody."

Whittington's personal goals heading into the 2026 season are pretty simple. Like the entire Rams locker room, he wants to win, first and foremost. But his first career NFL touchdown would be pretty nice as well.

"Yeah, I definitely want to score my first touchdown in the NFL, no doubt," Whittington said. "But I just want to win every opportunity I can. And when I don't, I want to learn from it."