'10 FL (STA) RB James White (Official Offer)

[GoRU]

Rivals
Scout



Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas

Ht: 5'10"
Wt: 190 lbs
Forty: 4.43 secs
Vertical: 28 inches
Shuttle: 4.58 secs

Statistics: 123 carries, 944 yards, 18 TD's

Originally Posted by LukeStampini

Is a very sturdy looking back with surprising speed.

Notes:
- teammate of 2009 Wisconsin recruits Conor O'Neill and Dez Southward
- Aquinas won the 2008 national high school championship
- was Aquinas' 3rd leading receiver
- White's backfield mate Giovanni Bernard also projects to be a high major D1 recruit
- On ESPN 150 Watch List
- 24th (1 behind Bernard) best prospect in Florida for '10 class per soflafootball.com
- named honorable mention all county as a junior


Observations and Notes from Aquinas-Deerfield Beach

RB James White, JR, St. Thomas Aquinas - White is a little bigger than Bernard and already has three offers including ones from Clemson, FIU, and Boston College. White rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

[Bernini]

STA’s White Talented As Well | soflafootball.com

1/27

White reports his only offer to this juncture is Boston College. But he is indeed receiving interest from Clemson, as well as Wisconsin, UNC, Duke, and UCONN. No. 1 factor in picking a school will be early playing time.

[OnWisconsin07]

My gut reaction to this story was that we will have little chance with White...being that early PT is his #1 factor.

However, after further thought and evalaution, it seems that White could indeed get some very meaningful early PT at Wisconsin. It says above that he was the 3rd leading receiver on Aquinas as a Junior.....which I am assuming is no easy feat on such a solid high school football team. This leads me to believe that he has good hands. Perhaps he could fit the Lance Smith mold that we sorely missed this past season. Looks like he could be that change of pace back and slot receiver we have all been waiting on.

Note: I say this without knowing how Montee and Dex will develop.

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by OnWisconsin07

My gut reaction to this story was that we will have little change with White...being that early PT is his #1 factor.

However, after further thought and evalaution, it seems that White could indeed get some very meaningful early PT at Wisconsin. It says above that he was the 3rd leading receiver on Aquinas as a Junior.....which I am assuming is no easy feat on such a solid high school football team. This leads me to believe that he has good hands. Perhaps he could fit the Lance Smith mold that we sorely missed this past season. Looks like he could be that change of pace back and slot receiver we have all been waiting on.

Note: I say this without knowing how Montee and Dex will develop.

Unless Erik Smith emerges, Wisconsin doesn't have an all-purpose back in '10. What if we want to run some spread option with Phillips? Clay and Ball definitely aren't the type of running backs who will make it outside before the defense reacts. Brown might be borderline, and he'll be a senior when this kid is a frosh. We don't have much hope of picking up a 3rd and long via the ground with the current crew when we don't want to make a risky pass attempt. When opposing DL's like Michigan's, PSU's, and OSU's are inevitably getting massive amounts of penetration on our slowish D-Line, we need a back who can cut on a dime and then get up field quickly. Plus, who will be our punt returner beyond David Gilreath? Fenelus is the only player I can think of who is close to the prototype. I definitely think White would have a role here immediately also, if he is indeed legit.

[badgerman27]

I watched Texas Tech play several times this year, and really enjoyed watching Shannon Woods. I thought he was nearly a duplicate of Brian Calhoun. That is the type of RB we need to recruit every couple of cycles, so we have a couple of guys like that on the roster as a 3rd down back, or to use in 3 and 4 wide sets, as a compliment to the other RBs.

Calhoun was a tremendous asset in the passing game, and we have missed that kind of contribution the past couple of years. He nearly won the Michigan game single handedly.

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by Bernini

Unless Erik Smith emerges, Wisconsin doesn't have an all-purpose back in '10. What if we want to run some spread option with Phillips? Clay and Ball definitely aren't the type of running backs who will make it outside before the defense reacts. Brown might be borderline, and he'll be a senior when this kid is a frosh. We don't have much hope of picking up a 3rd and long via the ground with the current crew when we don't want to make a risky pass attempt. When opposing DL's like Michigan's, PSU's, and OSU's are inevitably getting massive amounts of penetration on our slowish D-Line, we need a back who can cut on a dime and then get up field quickly. Plus, who will be our punt returner beyond David Gilreath? Fenelus is the only player I can think of who is close to the prototype. I definitely think White would have a role here immediately also, if he is indeed legit.

Sounds to me like Southward might be a good little punt returner depending on how he develops and his instincts to avoid tackles.

Either way, there will definitely be a need for a back in that mold. I guess we will have to see how White develops....hopefully Conor and Dez are in his ear already though.

I tried to watch his rivals video, but there isn't much footage of him to determine the exact type of back that he is.

[badgerbasketball33]

I would imagine southward will end up returning punts and kicks after gilreath.

[Jwill535]

Kicks yes, punts no. Unless you have been doing it for a couple years, returning punts isnt really a skill you pick up. As someone who returned punts I can attest to how difficult it is.

[TroyD92]

Keep the St. Thomas pipeline open BB......

[badgerbasketball33]

as someone who has returned punts it's really not that hard.

[TroyD92]

Originally Posted by badgerbasketball33

as someone who has returned punts it's really not that hard.

maybe you just had it?

[badgerbasketball33]

Took my first ever return back for a td in high school. He is probably 8 times the player I am. He can pick it up

[TheFresher]

When compared to returning kicks, returning punts is a lot more difficult.

And, OnWisconsin, I guarantee CO and DS are already in his and his teammates ears about coming to Wisconsin. O'Neill made it obvious that he talked Dezman into coming here and I can see him doing the same with his younger, former teammates.

[Bernini]

I watched Texas Tech play several times this year, and really enjoyed watching Shannon Woods. I thought he was nearly a duplicate of Brian Calhoun. That is the type of RB we need to recruit every couple of cycles, so we have a couple of guys like that on the roster as a 3rd down back, or to use in 3 and 4 wide sets, as a compliment to the other RBs.

Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State, Rodney Stewart of Colorado, and Keota Antolin of Arizona were in the same mold. Little speedsters, good vision, fun to watch, very effective right off the bat in their careers. They were probably effective immediately because speed like that can't be taught, and you can't catch what you can't see. STA's other back Bernard is a more extreme version of RB's in that mold. Now there's a guy who can shift on a dime.

Calhoun was a tremendous asset in the passing game, and we have missed that kind of contribution the past couple of years. He nearly won the Michigan game single handedly.

Originally Posted by OnWisconsin07

Sounds to me like Southward might be a good little punt returner depending on how he develops and his instincts to avoid tackles.

Either way, there will definitely be a need for a back in that mold. I guess we will have to see how White develops....hopefully Conor and Dez are in his ear already though.

I tried to watch his rivals video, but there isn't much footage of him to determine the exact type of back that he is.

I'll try to do my best to isolate some clips in game highlight videos then:

0:35, 1:10, 2:17:

YouTube - St. Thomas Aquinas 57, Cooper City 7

1:30 and 3:35 in this one:

YouTube - Aquinas Football vs. Lakeland - AT THE...

0:12, 0:35:

YouTube - Aquinas Football at Miramar Highlights...

2:12:

YouTube - Aquinas Football vs. Deerfield Beach -...

[GoRU]

Offers Roll in for White | soflafootball.com

3/20

Added offers from USF, NC State, Iowa, MSU, Rutgers, and Clemson.