Nick Whiteside played a major role for the Detroit Lions’ “Legion of Whom” secondary in their Week 7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, Oct. 20.

Whiteside, who spent the spring playing for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL and was cut by the Lions at the end of training camp, had three pass breakups while playing his first 40 defensive snaps of the year.

Terrion Arnold will return from injury for the Lions’ Nov. 2 game against the Minnesota Vikings, but Whiteside still could have a role on special teams and as a backup on defense.

He joins the Free Press for this week’s Five Questions.

Some questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

What’s the most important lesson you learned in the UFL?

Just find a way. It doesn’t matter what situation you’re put in. I mean, you got to work your way from the bottom. That’s anywhere, but it’s a lot different from the league cause in the league you have starters, you know who the starters are. Compared to the XFL, it’s more like a rotation. So that kind of helped me just to be like, if somebody goes down during a game, the expectation’s the expectation – the standard’s already set. So there’s no falling below the standard. So just find the way.

Jacob Saylors told me he started at the bottom of the UFL depth chart. Was it the same for you?

Yeah, so came in, feel like I bonded with the coaches well, feel like I had a good camp. And then ended up playing nickel and then thinking that I was going to be a key contributor, but the first couple games it was kind of like, we were blowing teams out, I’m getting in garbage time, which I didn’t have a problem with. I was close to the bottom of the depth chart and then injuries happen, I’m thinking I’m going to start a corner and unfortunately, that didn’t happen, so I had to continuously find a way just to show the coaches, really earn their trust.

It’s kind of like here, you come to a new environment, they’re not just going to throw you out there right away. Everybody’s getting paid the same in the XFL, so they felt more comfortable at the time playing their guys and I just continued to put my head down and work and just whenever my opportunity presented itself, I just wanted to make sure I’d be ready.

How close did you come to giving up football?

So I was with the Commanders in 2023, and when they fired Ron (Rivera) and got Dan Quinn, I feel like I was playing good ball and then I just kind of got in my own head and then I got cut, and then I just remember my agent saying it was probably going to be a while. And then I think that was the hardest part, just waiting. And yeah, I had my doubts. Undrafted, low profile, local kid, D-II. Guys like that … get put in my shoes, being out of the league for a whole year, they rarely get the chance to go back.

And then even going to the XFL, just hearing other guys’ stories, guys getting stuck there, it definitely was hard. Like I wanted to give up, but I just knew if I kept working, regardless of what it is, I believe in God and knowing that God was going to allow me to get an opportunity if that’s what he wanted. So it was definitely times I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know.’ But like I said, I’ve just been so programmed for years now just to, I’ve always believed in myself having a routine. So, like, even when I didn’t have motivation to get up and work up, my body, just my routine, it wouldn’t let me do that. I had to.

Non-football question: If you could talk to any animal and ask it any question, what would it be, and what would you ask?

Any animal? I’d probably say a lion. Yeah. I’d probably ask him like how does he survive? Cause you know with lions, you see the videos of them catching zebras and stuff like that, but their catch success rate is not that high. So I’d ask a lion, how do you continue to stay motivated and survive off of maybe catching a zebra or a gazelle and that’s your food for possibly a long time?

Do you see any parallels with you, sticking to the chase?

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, definitely with me, just if I can really tap in and really see how the lion thinks and operates, I feel like it would help me out a lot cause it’s like it’s just that motivation to keep going. Like, he’s disciplined enough, he keeps trying and trying to catch his prey, catch his food and he fails so many times and then he gets that one catch.

OK, who’s the best athlete to come from Auburn Hills Avondale, you, Lions offensive coordinator John Morton or someone else?

Oh, I’m going to say me. I’m going to say me every single time. I got much respect for John Morton and Coach Morton and the Morton family. I definitely say me. I played it all: Basketball, lacrosse, track, baseball. I didn’t play baseball in high school. I wish I did, but that was doing track at the time. But I’d definitely say it’s not even close.

Avondale’s had some good athletes. I covered the state championship basketball team with Dave Holston and Mike Lewis.

Yeah, Mike Lewis, that’s my uncle. Dave Holston, I’m real cool with him. Now, Dave, Dave is a great hooper, I will say that. And Mike’s my uncle, but I feel like I was the best to come through Avondale regardless of the sport. I mean, honestly, but especially Mike Lewis and Dave and John Morton, those guys kind of set the blueprint of, you put the work in, it may not pay off when you want it to, but it will eventually, and I got nothing but love and respect for Mike Lewis and Dave Holston cause they kind of took me underneath their wing when I was younger, watching them, and they kind of steered me in the right path of what to do, what not to do.

I always say all the time, Mike Lewis, we was at my granddad’s house and he bought us pizza, and I put the pizza sauce on the pizza and I didn’t like it, and he made me sit at the table in the kitchen until I ate it. Just little things like that, just being disciplined. Like if you’re going to do something, you finish it. Just little stuff like that, those little small, minute lessons that you learn, those can go a long way. But man, I’ve just been nothing but appreciative of my journey from Avondale and we got a lot of great alumni. Unfortunately, I feel like they don’t get enough recognition or spotlight they deserve.

Last one. You got a game ball last week, what are your plans for it?

It’s actually in my locker. Man, I’m not really big on accomplishments and stuff like that, but it kind of feels good when you get a little bit of recognition. Probably give it to my parents. I feel like I still got more work to be done. I still got to get better and just continue to earn the trust of the rest of my teammates and the coaching staff just to not even show them but show myself that wasn’t a one-time thing. I feel like I can be consistent when the opportunity presents itself. So I’ll just give it to my family. I know especially my mom and dad, they’ll probably be pretty excited for it. Let them have it and let them put it in a case.