Post by rkb on Jul 16, 2008 8:47:27 GMT -5
www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=276169&pub=1&div=Sports
JOHN L. PITTS:White making most of second chances in indoor football
7/16/2008 7:09:59 AM
Daily Journal
TUPELO - Of all the subplots in two years of Mississippi MudCats football, none may be more redemptive than that of Derrick White.
The MudCats linebacker was kicked off the University of Georgia roster by coach Mark Richt before the 2005 season after a drunken driving arrest.
White reestablished himself as a force on the football field last year with the MudCats, got a shot on the roster of the Arena Football League's Arizona Rattlers earlier this year and returned to the MudCats just in time for their current championship run.
Off the field, White is soft-spoken and contemplative.
On the field, he's a force of nature.
Just before a practice late last week, I had one question in particular that was bugging me.
"Where did you get your motor?"
White laughs at that, then delivers his answer with all seriousness: "From Mark Richt at the University of Georgia.
"He told us to be constantly moving in the direction of the football and never give up on a play," White said, leaning on the boards at BancorpSouth Arena as his teammates warmed up. "That was one thing that they always taught us, that even if you mess up on a play, if you keep moving you can make up for it before the play is over, if you just keep moving.
"Look at all of the great defensive college teams like old-school Florida State and Miami. They were always running to the football."
White is often the first man in an opposing backfield, firing off the corner sometimes before the snap. It earns him a few penallty flags, sure, but it puts him in position to create plenty of havok, too.
And White could be the key to Friday's game in Wyoming. By all accounts, the Wyoming Cavalry likes to send everybody into pass formations and count on their quarterback to make a quick read and get rid of the ball before an opposing defender can reach him.
But the Cavalry's big offensive linemen may not have seen anybody quite as agile and hostile as Derrick White. If he spends too much time in the Cavalry backfield, it could be a long night for the home team.
White had some long nights after his college career was over -he spent his final season at Clark Atlanta - wondering if he would get a second chance at making a better name for himself.
Then the phone rang early last year, and Mississippi MudCats personnel guru Kirk Broussard made White an offer he couldn't refuse.
"He was wondering if I'd like to play some football," White said. "Here was a guy I had never met, and I was trying to tell him my life story and the changes I had made in my life. I had to make him believe."
Broussard was sold, and White made a dramatic impact on the 2007 MudCats.
All the headlines White has made since arriving here have been for his play on the field. He has given a lot of thought, he said, to the importance of setting a good example, being a good teammate and putting himself in a position to leave every game with no regrets.
"There's only so much people can tell you about how life is going to turn out," he said. "One thing I do know, I never want to look back and say, I could have done more. I could have done better.' "
When 2008 rolled around, White made the roster the AFL team -just one phone call away from the NFL.
"The skill players, like the receivers, are not that different from the ones you might see at this level," White said. "The dramatic difference is on the offensive and defensive line. They've all played at big colleges, maybe some of them have been in the NFL, and they all have great technique."
After a few games, even though he was one of the Rattlers' tackle leaders. White was reassigned off the roster.
And there was Broussard, calling again with an invitation to return to Tupelo.
White huddled with his wife - Delilah, his high school sweetheart who's now in the U.S. Navy, assigned to Norfolk, Va. - and decided to give the MudCats another shot.
"I didn't see it as a setback, but as a chance to return here and maybe take care of some unfinished business," White said. "Of course, who knew what was going to happen when I got back?"
White energized the defense, which seemed to bring even more intensity once he returned to the lineup. When the team's top coaches and franchise quarterback Tommy Jones left a few weeks ago, White decided to stick around. It didn't change that much, from my perspective," he said. "I'm here to see how far we can take this thing."
The last few weeks, with the team banding together around themselves and interim coach William McCarthy, has transported White back to his days in high school. "We have come together so much, it's like every one of those guys out there us my brother. We have put every problem aside and we're just going to go out there and play and see what happens."
So far, it's been all good.
John L. Pitts is sports editor of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at john.pitts@djournal.com.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/16/2008, section D , page 3
JOHN L. PITTS:White making most of second chances in indoor football
7/16/2008 7:09:59 AM
Daily Journal
TUPELO - Of all the subplots in two years of Mississippi MudCats football, none may be more redemptive than that of Derrick White.
The MudCats linebacker was kicked off the University of Georgia roster by coach Mark Richt before the 2005 season after a drunken driving arrest.
White reestablished himself as a force on the football field last year with the MudCats, got a shot on the roster of the Arena Football League's Arizona Rattlers earlier this year and returned to the MudCats just in time for their current championship run.
Off the field, White is soft-spoken and contemplative.
On the field, he's a force of nature.
Just before a practice late last week, I had one question in particular that was bugging me.
"Where did you get your motor?"
White laughs at that, then delivers his answer with all seriousness: "From Mark Richt at the University of Georgia.
"He told us to be constantly moving in the direction of the football and never give up on a play," White said, leaning on the boards at BancorpSouth Arena as his teammates warmed up. "That was one thing that they always taught us, that even if you mess up on a play, if you keep moving you can make up for it before the play is over, if you just keep moving.
"Look at all of the great defensive college teams like old-school Florida State and Miami. They were always running to the football."
White is often the first man in an opposing backfield, firing off the corner sometimes before the snap. It earns him a few penallty flags, sure, but it puts him in position to create plenty of havok, too.
And White could be the key to Friday's game in Wyoming. By all accounts, the Wyoming Cavalry likes to send everybody into pass formations and count on their quarterback to make a quick read and get rid of the ball before an opposing defender can reach him.
But the Cavalry's big offensive linemen may not have seen anybody quite as agile and hostile as Derrick White. If he spends too much time in the Cavalry backfield, it could be a long night for the home team.
White had some long nights after his college career was over -he spent his final season at Clark Atlanta - wondering if he would get a second chance at making a better name for himself.
Then the phone rang early last year, and Mississippi MudCats personnel guru Kirk Broussard made White an offer he couldn't refuse.
"He was wondering if I'd like to play some football," White said. "Here was a guy I had never met, and I was trying to tell him my life story and the changes I had made in my life. I had to make him believe."
Broussard was sold, and White made a dramatic impact on the 2007 MudCats.
All the headlines White has made since arriving here have been for his play on the field. He has given a lot of thought, he said, to the importance of setting a good example, being a good teammate and putting himself in a position to leave every game with no regrets.
"There's only so much people can tell you about how life is going to turn out," he said. "One thing I do know, I never want to look back and say, I could have done more. I could have done better.' "
When 2008 rolled around, White made the roster the AFL team -just one phone call away from the NFL.
"The skill players, like the receivers, are not that different from the ones you might see at this level," White said. "The dramatic difference is on the offensive and defensive line. They've all played at big colleges, maybe some of them have been in the NFL, and they all have great technique."
After a few games, even though he was one of the Rattlers' tackle leaders. White was reassigned off the roster.
And there was Broussard, calling again with an invitation to return to Tupelo.
White huddled with his wife - Delilah, his high school sweetheart who's now in the U.S. Navy, assigned to Norfolk, Va. - and decided to give the MudCats another shot.
"I didn't see it as a setback, but as a chance to return here and maybe take care of some unfinished business," White said. "Of course, who knew what was going to happen when I got back?"
White energized the defense, which seemed to bring even more intensity once he returned to the lineup. When the team's top coaches and franchise quarterback Tommy Jones left a few weeks ago, White decided to stick around. It didn't change that much, from my perspective," he said. "I'm here to see how far we can take this thing."
The last few weeks, with the team banding together around themselves and interim coach William McCarthy, has transported White back to his days in high school. "We have come together so much, it's like every one of those guys out there us my brother. We have put every problem aside and we're just going to go out there and play and see what happens."
So far, it's been all good.
John L. Pitts is sports editor of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at john.pitts@djournal.com.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/16/2008, section D , page 3