By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN
December 06, 2008 02:34 am
—
Considering the charmed career West Virginia University quarterback Patrick White has had leading into this last hurrah in what started out as Mountaineer Field and which became Milan Puskar Stadium at Mountaineer Field, in no small part because of the magic White performed on the artificial surface, it figures to snow tonight.
Big, fluffy white snowflakes drifting through the night mountain air, giving a misty white glow to an evening that already has been designated as a “White-Out,” which in the modern vernacular means that fans come decked in white or waving white towels (that, by the way, are available for sale).
The players themselves will honor their record-shattering teammate by wearing white jerseys, something that took special dispensation from the NCAA and the gracious visiting team, South Florida.
It is too bad they didn’t think this “White-Out” through to its logical conclusion, because there could have been a parade down High Street with Vanna White as the grand marshal. The national anthem could be a recording no one other than Barry White. Heisman Trophy winner Charles White of USC could have been flown in to make some kind of presentation to Patrick White and, yes, the cheerleaders could have been dressed like Snow White.
All of this would be most deserved for White, although he would certainly have put his foot down vehemently and said no to any of it. Of all the athletes you will ever come across, Patrick White is the least ego-maniacal.
When he was considered a prime candidate for the Heisman Trophy leading into this season and the school wanted to create a Web site for him, he argued against it. And yes, he argued against this “White-Out” for fear it would make him stand out from the other 18 seniors who were being honored in this final home game, as if his 4,385 career rushing yards and 16 different records make him stand out enough.
It reached such an absurd point that coach Bill Stewart actually got up in front of the media and begged them to make sure that they emphasize that the “White-Out” is not honoring his quarterback, but all the seniors.
“This is a team game at West Virginia University, t-e-a-m. This team has the most unselfish, great character young men we’ve ever had in this program. It’s caused me great discomfort that I had to let a lot of people go once I took over as head football coach, but my discomfort lasted about how long it takes you to blink your eye. I’m not going to put up with any characters; I’m going to put up with men with character,” Stewart said.
“This senior class has done much more than any other senior class, and we just happened to be led by a guy named White. Pat White, No. 5, the greatest winner in college football, who would not be one iota without 18 brothers who have helped him along the journey. Those 19 seniors are why we’re having a ‘White-Out.’ Pat White isn’t the reason we’re having the ‘White-Out.’ It’s Pat White who is at the head of the class and the entire pyramid that has helped Pat White become what he has become.
“So our senior class would not want it any other way. This is not a one-man show; this is not a one-man outfit; it is not a one-man story. This is a story about 18 brothers who are lifting up a 19th who happens to have the last name, White. Our senior class absolutely loves No. 5, and this is for all of them.”
That speech may have done wonders for team unity, but the school’s “White-Out” ad featured this huge photo of Patrick White and none of his teammates; the radio ads were all about Patrick White. So, despite White’s protests, this is his night.
If you don’t believe it, there again will be a group of great seniors playing their final game next year and chances are there will be no “Brown-Out” for Jarrett Brown.
As always, White has taken all this in stride, quietly, with a touch of humor and always understanding that the Earth goes around the sun and not the other way around.
Earlier this week, talking about the “White-Out” was almost painful for him.
“It doesn’t matter what you wear. You have to go out and play,” he said.
And then, jokingly, White pointed out, “The stadium will be a lot brighter at night.”
The metamorphosis of Patrick White, the football player, is what the fans will come to celebrate tonight. He was unknown in these parts upon his arrival from Daphne, Ala., but his coach, Rich Rodriguez, assured us all he could play the game.
His first season, behind closed doors, he showed what he had as he baffled the varsity in practice while a redshirt. Rodriguez did what he could to keep the pressure off him in his next season, using him as a “co-starter” with Adam Bednarik, a kid who deserved more than the injuries he suffered as he filled the void until White was ready to run the show.
No one knew how well White could play until Bednarik was injured in what seemed to be a runaway victory for Louisville on WVU’s home field. Coming off the bench, White engineered the greatest comeback in Mountaineer history, teaming with Steve Slaton to erase a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit, then winning the game in a third overtime with a two-point conversion pass to Dorrell Jalloh.
West Virginia football changed on that day. White’s skills were the perfect complement to Slaton, and when Owen Schmitt was added to the mix later, White had the devastating blocker he needed to shatter records almost every time he stepped on the field.
White’s skills have been appreciated not only here but across America, as evidence by a sixth-place finish in last year’s Heisman Trophy voting.
Jim Leavitt is the South Florida coach who will stand across the field and try to stop White for a third straight time tonight.
“He has brought national respect and credibility to our conference,” Leavitt said. “He is that singular player in our league that everyone will look at as giving the Big East credibility.”
In other words, he saved the Big East when Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech bolted.
“I’m glad we don’t have to play Pat White again,” was the tribute Connecticut’s Randy Edsall paid after facing White this year. “When you have Patrick White, that’s the big difference.”
“I stick to my guns. Pat White is the best football player in America,” said Mark Snyder, Marshall’s coach, in the days leading up to that annual rivalry game.
But that’s football, and there is that other side of Patrick White that is far more fascinating.
His growth as a person over the past five years is what makes him stand out.
One can only imagine the temptations that are presented to a college football hero. Those far less idolized than White have found themselves caught up in drugs and fights and who knows what else, while White has kept his head far above the fray.
He was raised right by caring parents in a loving family. On the football field he may instinctively make the right move, but in life it has always been a result of his parents teaching him right from wrong and his willingness to accept it.
When asked what will stick in his mind most about WVU, he didn’t hesitate for a moment.
“Graduation,” he said. “That’s why my parents sent me here. If I didn’t get the degree it would have been a failed mission.”
As he became more comfortable with himself, he became more a spokesman for the team, maybe for the athletic department.
This summer he found himself caught up in his first controversy, having spoken what was on his mind at Big East Media Day, saying he didn’t play baseball in college because of the lack of African-American players.
The school went into instant shock, but the numbers could not be refuted, and it is a problem that college baseball, not just as West Virginia, must deal with. The only thing White did wrong in the entire affair was issuing any other statement, probably at the direction of the school, for he was 100 percent within his rights to have such beliefs.
That, however, showed a sensitive, caring side to White, which balances off a playful side that makes it so you can’t dislike him. Whether it is being caught on the bench mocking the roar of the Pitt Panther, or waving bye-bye to Slaton after giving him a handoff at the start of another breakaway run, there is still a whole lot of little kid in White.
This week his needle was being stuck into the media. Asked what he enjoyed most about WVU, he answered:
“I enjoyed everything about WVU … except for the media.”
And when the subject turned to what he learned, he answered: “You guys can’t ‘slick me’ any more.”
It had been a wonderful run for White, one that was too close to being over.
Awaiting him was his Friday night talk to the team, a tradition where all seniors get up before the final home game and say what is on their minds.
White admitted he hadn’t yet decided what he’d say, but he was sure of one thing.
“There will be more tears than words.”
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
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Times West Virginian