Leave Me Alone, I'm Watching the Game!
West Virginia Quarterback Pat White Has Been the Best College Football Player in the Land Four Years in a Row.
By Ali Danois
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The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is college football’s most prestigious honor, presented annually to the (supposedly) nation’s most outstanding player. And there’s no doubt that the last four winners have the gaudy statistics and memorable highlights that support their successful candidacies. But in my eyes, the best player over the last four years, who should have won at least two Heisman’s, is West Virginia University quarterback Pat White.
As the bowl season mercifully winds down, like most college football fans, I’m eagerly awaiting the marquee match-ups of the BCS games and the National Championship between Florida and Oklahoma. Those schools boast the two previous Heisman winners in quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford, who both orchestrate a brand of explosive and entertaining offensive machinery that even the Grinch could admire and appreciate.
This season has seen a further renaissance in wide open offensive philosophy, where points continue to pile up on scoreboards in ways that would make Wilt Chamberlain’s tally at a swinger’s convention pale in comparison. And the remaining games will undoubtedly deliver more pyrotechnics and awe-inspiring performances. But I can’t shake this feeling that what’s on tap will be nothing more than anti-climactic.
And that’s because Pat White, one of the greatest players in the illustrious history of the college game, has already played his last down.
In the Meineke Car Care Bowl, White orchestrated his memorable exit and forcefully threw down an exclamation point on a four-year career that’s been nothing less than dazzling. He threw for 322 yards in his finale, including the game winning touchdown pass (a bullet that whizzed past two defenders) midway through the fourth quarter, securing a scintillating 31-30 victory over the University of North Carolina.
During his career, White has established himself as the most prolific running quarterback of all time. Even though the Mountaineers were out of the national championship hunt early this season, their games were still must see events because of his electricity.
Watching him play was like watching Barry Sanders, Mike Rozier, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Vince Young, Anthony Carter, Deion Sanders and Reggie Bush – guys who made college football their own personal playgrounds. You, literally, could not turn away from the TV while he was on the field for fear of missing out on genius in the moment of its improvisational creation.
White is the only quarterback to start and win four consecutive bowl games. He often made the spectacular look routine and was named the most valuable player of a bowl game three years in a row.
Against North Carolina in his finale, the Tar Heel defense routinely put eight men on the line of scrimmage to contain his running ability. He responded by completing 26 out of 32 passes and throwing for three touchdowns.
As with most black quarterbacks who are fleet of feet, the pundits have criticized his supposed flaws as a passer. Hopefully, this performance should put those criticisms to rest. White can make very throw you’d want an NFL quarterback to make and has the speed and escape-ability that should have pro scouts salivating.
But regardless of his future as a pro, folks need to isolate his years in a college uniform and cherish the memories.
The lack of a big-time college football playoff that determines a true national champion gives fans plenty to complain about. I’m of the belief that we should remove the “C” from the flawed BCS system. It’s a financially driven enterprise catering to special interests that’s far from fan friendly.
But in the midst of what’s wrong about college football, Pat White has been everything that’s right. His accomplishments, records and awards are too numerous to mention. A small town kid from Daphne, Alabama, he was also a high draft pick by Major League Baseball’s Anaheim Angels.
He could have easily taken the up front cash, forgone a college education and put himself and his family in a much better financial condition. But thank goodness, the lure of football and the undergraduate experience beckoned.
After his final game in a West Virginia uniform, his coach, Bill Stewart, gave White the ultimate compliment. “I hope my son grows up to be just like him-and I’m not talking about at quarterback,” Stewart said. “I’m talking about as a man.”
He may not have won a Heisman Trophy but, in my book, he’s the greatest college quarterback that I’ve ever seen.
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Valid points. The guy is good. I’d have to say that Tebow ranks up there as well. Another unselfish player that is also a thinker.
> Ramon
no doubt ramon, tebow is a very special player, a rare combination of size, strength and skills at the qb position. but no one, in the 30 years that i’ve seriously followed college football, has made me say “GOODNESS GRACIOUS GOD A’MIGHTY” as much as pat white. the backfield combinations of him, steve slaton and noel devine are the definition of college football greatness. thanks for reading my man.
> ali
Hate to say that I’ve never heard of the cat until now…why didnt he get scouted by the NFL?
> SVU
Dope article Ali.
> Keyes
SVU,
he’s getting scouted and will be drafted. you’ll see him playing in the NFL next year. but some folks think he’ll be more like antwaan randle-el of the washington redskins, a phenomenal college quarterback that was shifted to wide receiver in the pros.
pat white would be a very good wide receiver, but i think he can do things like michael vick and randall cunningham, quarterbacks that were fleet of feet who could create innumerable opportunities for their offenses. the man is a human highlight film and, most importantly, a winner and leader who elevates those around him with his transcendent talent.
> ali
Ali,
I agree with you on the fact that Pat White had a great college career and that he has certainly been the top offensive player in the Big East during this time, but at no point was he the best or most valuable player in the country during any of these four years.
> Bill Devens
let’s debate it bill. who was better and more valuable? i can’t see a player that was. no quarterback has ever run for more yards in a career than white. EVER! no quarterback has started and won 4 bowl games in a career. EVER. take him off of west virginia, and are they in the national championship hunt 2 of the last four years? i don’t think so. without him, they’re not even a top 25 team.
> ali
Eh. I’m a Pat White fan too but the best QB ever? I’m not sure that I put him in the same class as Tebow, Walker, Manning or even don’t laugh, Ken Dorsey. Pure athlete, no doubt, awesome “slash” type of player in the NFL, hell yes. But best college QB ever? Sorry, but White doesn’t get Buck’s vote.
> Buck
buck, you CAN’T be serious about ken dorsey! those miami teams had an incredible winning % with dorsey as the QB, but that was probably the greatest college squad ever – ed reed, clinton portis, willis mcgahee, najeh davenport, frank gore, andre johnson, jeremey shockee, roscoe parish, mike rumph, phillip buchanon, kellen winslow, sean taylor, bryant mckinnie, etc. an astounding 16 players from that 2001 team were 1st round draft picks. that’s bananas!!! Aunt Esther from Sanford and Son could’ve quarterbacked that team.
manning was an incredible college QB. he tossed 90 td’s and had some 500-yard passing games. but he looked as stiff as a statue while unleashing that rocket arm.
tebow is great, no doubt. but i’m saying that Pat White is the greatest that i’ve ever seen, aesthetically. the man has been Michael Jordan in cleats four years in a row. he literally made me jump out of my seat and roll around on the floor like Arsenio Hall, pointing to the TV in disbelief with that long E.T. finger – “YESSSS!”
> ali
This guy sounds like the next coming
> House
He needs to be a New York Giant. All-purpose ultra like Randal-El. Single wing is made for him.
> Sean Couch
well there was Vince Young, Mike Vick, Kordell Stuart, Charlie Ward, Steve Young, Tony Rice, and of course Tommie Frazier of Nebraska… to name just a few mobile play makers… i think Pat White is very good, even great, but not the best ever… i also think he should play QB in the pros. but if im not mistaken this was is 1st and only 300 plus yard passing game. you must do it more than once to be a Heisman winner and the best ever…
> Savali
yes savali. but none of those guys did it consistently for four years, winning all four bowl games. i loved charlie ward by the way. pat white’s lowest completion percentage was 57% and that was as a freshman. for the last three years, it hovered around 66%. if he was in an offense that stressed throwing the ball like texas tech, 300 yard passing games would have been the norm.
i know that saying he’s the best ever raises some eyebrows. but from my perspective, he was the best, aesthetically, that i’ve seen in the college game. if you were to name one qb that i had to pay to see, hands down, i’d fork over my hard earned cash to watch pat white above all others.
> ali
Ali,
The thing that stood out ot me the most is the last quote by the coach,“I hope my son grows up to be just like him-and I’m not talking about at quarterback,†Stewart said. “I’m talking about as a man.†When you have a career on and off the field the way he did, I say give that kid a standing ovation.
> DQ
yeah dq,
he definitely deserves a standing ovation and i’m hoping that he lands in the optimal situation in the nfl, where he’ll be given a legitimate shot at succeeding.
i loved troy smith at ohio state and thought he deserved that hesiman trophy. and i personally believe that pat white was a better college player than troy, who’s one injury away from starting for the ravens.
and at the end of the day, regardless of where they put him on the field, i’ve already seen enough to know that he will bring that wow factor to whatever franchise puts the ball in his hands.
> ali
I have to agree with Ali Pat White hands down has the stats of a college great. Im not saying he should have won the Heisman in any year, but he definitly sure should have been in the running. If there was a award given for the past for years overall I’d say he would get that one. First QB to go undeafeated in 4 bowl games and they played pretty good teams. No one thought that he would do what he did to Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma. It was always exciting to watch him play knowing that any moment he could take off down the field. The change in the offense that Stewart did his senior year really changed his game play. I understand he was getting the offense ready for next years Jared Brown, but why change something when he still had Pat White. The QB draw they ran his senior year everyone was waiting for. If I recall most of Pat Whites long rushes for TD or just yards came from plays that were not designed to be that way. He was able to scope out the field and if no one was open or if he had a hole would be gone in a flash. I think a team should give him a chance to see what he does as a QB in the NFL. We all know he wont ruin his career like Michael Vick did, he is a good person on and off the field and never got into trouble in college. Looking at all these mock drafts saying he wont be selected until the fourth round is a joke. I would love to draft a star athlete with that much talent that late in the draft. I strongly feel that he is better than some of these quarterbacks in the NFL. I mean I am not a Jets fan but with Farve retiring why not take a chance with a new young QB. With Tom Brady’s injury and not sure how he will recover and return I would say they should take a shot with him too. Could you imagine what the Patriots could draw up with the Moss-White combination. Pat White is just the type of QB the NFL needs right now. With Whites elusiveness, speed, and heart I’m sure he could be a fan favorite somewhere and sell some tickets anywhere. He doesn’t like to see a quarterback take a broken play for a long run or mend it with a pass no one anticipates the way that Big Ben does.
> Shawn
[...] West Virginia Quarterback Pat White Has Been the Best College Football Player in the Land Four Years… __________________
> Link: 4* WR Matt Milton picks Vols - Page 3 - TideFans.com
Thank you for posting. I look forward to reading your posts here!
> florida gators fan
Thanks to this post I dont seem like an idiot. I had an argument with someone and this shows I was right. Thanks!
> Annita Fosser
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