Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame Feature- Whitney Mercilus

By Ralph N. Paulk, APS Storyteller

Unpolished, Underrated - Unstoppable: Mercilus defies odds in paving into APS Hall of Fame

On the heels of the Houston Texans’ gut-wrenching 30-23 setback to the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the 2014 season, Whitney Mercilus sat motionless near his Heinz Field locker contemplating what went wrong.  

Whatever the reasons, he shouldn’t have blamed himself. 

The Garfield graduate frustrated one of the NFL’s best offensive fronts to harass quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He sacked the future Pro Football Hall of Famer twice and tormented him with unrelenting pressure.

The Steelers’ game plan was simply to keep edge rusher J.J. Watt and linebacker Brian Cushing from collapsing the pocket. The game plan worked to near-perfection, but they had no answer for Mercilus, who finished the game with 10 tackles, two sacks and two tackles for losses – all team highs.

Mercilus wasn’t impressed with the numbers. The most telling numbers were on the scoreboard, an undeniable reality that football is a team sport. It’s the first lesson learned under Ellet coach Bob Sax, who as Mercilus coach at Garfield, unearthed an unpolished athlete then chiseled him into a diamond out of the proverbial rough.

Mercilus, the son of Haitian immigrants, has earned his way into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame. He is among 10 inductees to be enshrined during a ceremony Saturday, Oct. 18 at Guy’s Party Center at 6 p.m.

The two-time All-City performer will be joined in the hall by another former Garfield and NFL star, running back Larry Poole. Others to be honored are: East graduates Michael Bucker (coach), Chuck Shuman (coach), and Frank Williams (track/field, basketball); Joe Plouse (wrestling, North), Shirley Fry (tennis, Central), Ernie Kusnyer (basketball, Firestone), George Sisler (baseball, Akron), John Tillman (track, North).  

“This is a tremendous honor,” said Mercilus, who joins his Garfield teammate, Chris “Beanie” Wells, into the Hall of Fame. “To be recognized with others who have contributed to the success of their schools is special.” 

Mercilus, a relatively non-descript talent when he wandered into the Rams’ locker room his sophomore year in 2004, spent all but one of his 11 NFL seasons with the Texans. The fact that he spent a single season getting paid to play a game he stumbled into as a 16 year old, was an unimaginable feat.

Admittedly, the son of Haitian immigrants had no interest in playing football. It didn’t matter that he was 6’3”, 240 pounds, and blessed with unfiltered athleticism. He had no intentions of engaging in such a violent game until his cousin, a Marine Corps veteran, brow beat him into becoming a Ram.

“I wanted to play pee-wees, but I was a little too big,” the 35-year-old former Pro Bowler recalled. “My cousin really inspired me to play the game, and one day we showed up in Coach Sax's office. I had no background in football. I didn’t know the difference between offense and defense.

“I had to work diligently just to understand the game. It took some time, but I had some good coaches who were patient.”

Mercilus became a handful when the light came on. He parlayed his quick-study skills to become a blue-star recruit, who ultimately landed at the University of Illinois before being selected by Houston in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

“When Illinois came in, they were like we love this guy,” Sax said. “They said he was everything they looked for in a young man. I’m not surprised at his success because I know how hard he worked at everything he did.”

Admittedly, Sax never saw Mercilus’ success coming.

“We had to teach him how to get into a stance. We had to teach him defensive positions, how to tackle, how to be physical,” Sax said. “Honestly, it was actually kind of nice having such an unpolished talent.  
He didn't know a whole lot, so he didn't have any bad habits.”

“He turned out to be an amazing player in high school. He was an amazing person. 
Now, he’s an amazing amazing man.”

Mercilus was a rare talent, who extended himself on Garfield’s campus. He was a volunteer assistant coach for the girls basketball team. He, too, was a trusted counsel, someone his classmates could trust – a personality trait that appealed to college recruiters..

Mercilus wasn’t only a star on the field. Even though he spent the final season of his career during spot duty in Green Bay, his community service still resonates in Houston where he and former teammate, Alfred Blue, started a branch of Sports International Football Camp.

The Texans management had conflicted feelings when it parted ways with Mercilus in 2021. In a statement, Houston chairman and CEO Cal McNair noted the Garfield alum’s contribution within the community.

“There aren't many players in franchise history who have impacted our organization and community the way Whitney Mercilus has. I can recall a number of times over the last 10 seasons where he stepped up for us on the field with a sack or big play in a crucial moment, but it was his unique connection with the Houston community that made him one of the most popular players in franchise history. Our fan base gravitated to Whitney from day one and he always found ways to give back and serve through his foundation and culinary work. My family and the entire organization will always consider Whitney a Texan."

Mercilus, a native of Orange, New Jersey, is a Ram at heart. He, too, is rooted into his parents’ native land, Haiti – a country continuously under siege by crime, poverty and natural disasters. Unlike football, he can’t tackle the problem alone. 

“The last time I was in Haiti may have been 2018, and the only reason we haven't been back is because of the destabilization the country has experienced since the assassination of the president (Jovenel Moise on July 7, 2021),” Mercilus said. “My parents were building a home there before the chaos.”

“They're open to be able to move there and live there, but with the state of things it's just not safe. But we moved to Ohio because it’s a great place with blue-collar jobs.”

The Mercilus family has thrived in America. And Mercilus has created youth programs – including his football camp – that will open doors to young men and women in the same manner in which his cousin did for him at Garfield.

“Some kids don’t get a chance to get out of the city, and they fall into some bad habits,” Mercilus said. “Sports is a way to escape all that and builds character, which enables them to understand life’s big picture.”

While his induction will focus on football, Mercilus reflects on the off-field successes that led him to the Hall of Fame. His parents emphasized shared responsibility and academics.

“I just loved playing the game and I was always about playing with passion,” Mercilus said. “For me, growing up in an immigrant household, education was the main thing.”

“I understood that growing up in Akron, like a number of other places, young people get into all kinds of trouble. It was important to honor my family by sharing the values they taught me. I managed to stay out of trouble, and it’s important to teach those lessons now to young people.”

“I didn't think about football providing a scholarship opportunity, but once that chance presented itself that’s when I dug in a little deeper,” he added. “We weren’t well off or anything like that, and we were just making it by as a family.”

Whitney Mercilus: By the Numbers

9 – NFL playoff games played

58 – Career sacks 

26 – The 26th player taken in the 2010 NFL Draft

138 – NFL games played