If you’ve been a college football-enthusiast for the past decade, you probably remember the days of Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia, where he ran his famed spread-option run-based offense that routinely sees his teams rank among the nation’s best in rushing offense.
Rodriguez’s greatest success came when he found a diamond in the rough prospect in quarterback Pat White. The 2-sport star (drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) came to WVU as a 3-star “athlete” recruit.
He left there a college football legend.
Here were his career highlights in college:
- 34-8 as a Starter
- 2005 Freshman All-American
- 2006 Gator Bowl MVP
- 2008 Fiesta Bowl MVP
- 2009 Senior Bowl MVP
- 4,400+ Rush Yards,(Most all-time by a QB) 4-0 in bowl games,(2-0 in BCS and the only QB 4-0 in bowl games) Rushed for both 200 and passed for 200 in a single game, 100+ Career Touchdowns (47 Rushing)
- Started 40 games during his 4-year career
- Starting record of 34-8 is most by any quarterback in WVU history and sixth in NCAA history
- Only quarterback to have started and won 4 consecutive bowl games.
- 4,480 career yards rushing are the most among any quarterback-only player in FBS history
- Scored 100+ touchdowns, a Big East record for any position
- 159.7 final Quarterback rating, Completed 65% of his passes during his career, and had two consecutive 1,000 Yard rushing seasons
- Holds over 20 individual NCAA, Big East and WVU Records
To put it bluntly, he was Tim Tebow without the media-circus.
Like Tebow, White’s skills didn’t initially translate into the NFL game. After White was drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the 44th overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, he was used in the Wildcat formation and as a receiver, but did get an oppurtunity to play some QB.
He ultimately didn’t fit with the Dolphins, who later released him, and after a failed attempt to play Major League Baseball, White tried his hand in the UFL with the Virginia Destroyers, but couldn’t catch on with them.
It appeared White’s football career was over, until he was surprisingly signed by the Washington Redskins. He entered last night’s preseason-opener as the fourth-QB on the depth chart, but it was his nine-yard touchdown run that put the the Skins in position to win the game last night. With only seconds left on the clock and the Skins down 21-20 after White had just scored. Mike Shanahan putt he game in White’s hands, as he went for the 2-point conversion.
White dropped back to pass, and after the pocket broke down, White scrambled and bought enough time for Emmanuel Ogbuehi to get a hair of separation, and White gunned it into him for the conversion, and the win.
While White remains a long-shot to make the 53-man roster, for at least one night, he was able to show what makes him such a special football player.