In a word, West Virginia QB Pat White is explosive. In a phrase, he may be the hardest man to catch in college football.
His timed speed doesn’t matter, but he’s fast, very, very fast. If you want to know how fast he is, ask all of the defenders that he’s blown by over the last three years. And if you happen to be on the Mountaineers’ schedule this season and haven’t gotten a taste of Pat White’s dust yet, one thing to remember is that if you let him get past you, good luck trying to catch him.
In the 2004 recruiting class, White was a lower-rated prospect than the likes of Xavier Lee, Brent Schaeffer, and Rocky Hinds, guys oozing with potential and athletic ability that they didn’t quite tap into. Lee spent his time in and out of the starting lineup at Florida State before declaring early for the 2008 NFL Draft, and both Schaeffer (Tennessee, junior college, Ole Miss) and Hinds (USC and UNLV) played the transfer game and posted pretty forgettable stat lines.
As for White, well, he’s blossomed into one of the top players in college football and the worst nightmare for many. He’s won two Big East titles, two BCS bowls, been a part of three straight 11-win seasons, and garnered numerous conference and national individual honors. Frankly, if Rich Rodriguez could’ve cloned him and taken him to Ann Arbor, he would’ve in a heartbeat.
Heading into this season, the Mountaineers are the Big East favorite and a national title contender, with White, who finished 6th in Heisman voting last season, is one of the favorites for college football’s top individual award yet again.
After the end of the season, however it turns out for White and the Mountaineers, a great debate will intensify about White’s future.
No, not about whether he’s going to pursue a baseball career, but if he’s going to play quarterback in the NFL.
A few months back, a few West Virginia fans were none too happy with me when I alluded to the possibility of White not playing under center on the next level (and for putting him #3 in my list of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks), but it’s a more than viable question.
Look on NFL Draft Scout, one of the top draft services around, and they have White listed as the #7 receiver in the 2009 NFL Draft class, with quarterback listed among his secondary positions, along with running back and kick returner.
Analysts and coaches all too easily say receiver, running back, kick returner, or some other position when it comes to guys like Eric Crouch/Brad Smith/Michael Robinson.
It certainly would be interesting to see what White could do as an ‘athlete,’ lining up at running back, catching passes as a receiver, returning kicks, and taking some snaps at quarterback. Heck, the NFL’s leading kick returner (by average per return) last season was a former college quarterback, Cleveland’s Josh Cribbs, who was a dual-threat star at QB for Kent State.
However, I wouldn’t be so quick to push White into another position, at least without giving him a chance to prove his worth as an NFL-caliber QB.
One of the reasons why dual-threat quarterbacks sometimes get moved to other positions is not only because their athletic ability may seem to suit them better at another position, but also because their ability as a passer isn’t refined enough/hasn’t been shown enough to prove that they can be just that in the NFL.
While White has thrown for only 4,207 yards and 35 touchdowns in three seasons, he has undoubted ability as a thrower, and his passing has improved over each season.
As a redshirt freshman, he completed only 57% of his passes, but over the last couple of seasons, those numbers have improved to 65.9% in 2006 and 66.7% in 2007, all the while as he’s thrown the ball more (114 attempts in 2005, 179 in 2006, 216 in 2007). He’s never really been much for making a lot of mistakes, but he’s also improved in that area, throwing 14 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions last season after 13/7 in 2006 and 8/5 in 2005.
If you’ve seen White over the last three years, you know the amazing instincts, vision, and patience when he’s on the move with the football. What makes me optimistic about his chances to succeed as a quarterback is having much the same ability as a passer. That’s why he doesn’t throw many interceptions - he knows how, when, and where to make the throws.
And even though it’s helped his cause to have Steve Slaton (and now Noel Devine) in the backfield with him, and to have the ability to break a 60-yard run at the drop of a hat, he’s shown leadership and clutch ability, two of the most defining traits of a successful quarterback.
Remember the 2007 Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech? West Virginia was down 35-17 in the third quarter, and without an injured Slaton, White rallied the Mountaineers to a 38-35 victory, throwing two touchdown passes to pull West Virginia within 35-31 and running for a touchdown to put them ahead, all in the span of less than seven minutes.
This isn’t to say that White can seamlessly make the transition from ‘playmaker’ to ‘NFL quarterback’ just like that, but then again, did Peyton Manning? Two or three years of development will allow him to continue to develop as a passer and become a quality, reliable starter.
In that time, try him out at running back, receiver, or kick returner, and if it turns out that he’s a much better fit at one of those positions, then so be it.
But, he should get a more than fair chance at being a quarterback in the NFL, because if the last three years are any indication, there’s no reason to bet against him on the next level.
Will he be that guy who regularly throws it 30 times a game? His best fit would probably be somewhere with an established running game, like a Carolina (DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart), Minnesota (Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor), for example, where he could throw it 20 to 25 times per game and not have to worry so much about doing it all on his own, rather just being efficient, smart, and consistent, both with his arm and legs.
By comparison, Michael Vick (Warrick Dunn), Vince Young (LenDale White), and Steve McNair (Eddie George) all had the running game, but for the efficiency and consistency, that’s something that Vick (career 53.8 completion %, 71 TD, 52 INT, 75.7 rating) was plagued by, something that Vince Young (21 touchdowns, 30 INT in two seasons) is still learning to do, and something that Steve McNair needed time with as well. And frankly, with any starting quarterback, it takes time. Just ask the Manning brothers.
There’s no doubt the tools are there, but which Pat White will we be talking about next year? Pat White the NFL QB, or Pat White the NFL athlete?
Give your take on whether White will start at QB in the NFL in our poll on the front page.
