Pat White: A Mountaineer Legend's College Legacy
Patrick Christian White, born on February 25, 1986, is an American former football quarterback whose college career at West Virginia University cemented his place in Mountaineer history. White set the FBS record for career rushing yards by a quarterback and became known for his electrifying dual-threat ability.
High School and Recruitment
Before becoming a college star, White excelled at Daphne High School in Alabama. As a senior, he rushed for 1,905 yards and 31 touchdowns while also passing for 1,488 yards and 15 touchdowns. His outstanding performance earned him a spot on the ASWA Super 12 team. White was voted 3rd in the Mr. Football for Alabama his senior high school season.
Recruiting attention came from several major programs, including West Virginia, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt. Ultimately, White chose West Virginia University because they promised him an opportunity to play quarterback. He also passed up a career in affiliated baseball and a six-figure contract with the Anaheim Angels to play college football.
2005 Season: Emerging as a Starter
White began his Mountaineer career in 2005, initially sharing snaps with Adam Bednarik. He started his season out against Syracuse, with 63 yards passing and 20 yards rushing. In the 35-7 victory over Wofford, White passed for 82 yards on six passes out of 10, and rushed for 107 yards and a score. In the 31-19 victory over Maryland, White rushed for 62 yards on nine carries. In the 20-15 victory over ECU, White scored his first ever passing touchdown of his collegiate career and added 64 yards passing. In the 34-17 loss to Virginia Tech, White came into the game in the second half.
White's shared time with Bednarik continued until the seventh game of the season against Louisville. With WVU down 24-7, White came in to replace an injured Bednarik and led the Mountaineers to a 46-44, triple-overtime victory. He teamed up with freshman running back Steve Slaton to lead the Mountaineers with his 118 total yards on the game, while Slaton scored a Big East record 6 touchdowns. The game marked the first major game in the duo's memorable career together. The next game, the 45-13 victory over Connecticut, White totaled 106 passing yards and a touchdown, along with 63 rushing yards and two touchdowns for a total of 169 yards and three scores. In the 38-0 victory over Cincinnati, White passed for 100 yards and a score and rushed for 111 yards on only eight carries for 211 total yards. It marked the first 200-yard game of his career. One of White's best games in the tenure before the bowl game was against Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl rivalry game. He threw for 41 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 45-13 win. It was only White's second career 200-yard game and it had come consecutively to his previous 200-yard game against Cincinnati. Against USF, White led the Mountaineers to their first undefeated Big East season since 1993 with a 177-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance.
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No.1: Pat White shared snaps with Adam Bednarik early in the season, but became the full-time starter in West Virginia's eighth game. Behind White, the Mountaineers ran the table to the Big East Conference title.
2006 Sugar Bowl: A Star is Born
With White now the starting quarterback, the Mountaineers won the rest of their games to win the Big East Conference title and earn a bid to the 2006 Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs. In what was essentially a home game for the Bulldogs as the Sugar Bowl was moved to the Georgia Dome due to Hurricane Katrina, White had what many described as his "coming-out party", rushing for 77 yards and throwing for 120 yards and a touchdown in WVU's 38-35 win against the Bulldogs. That season, he passed for 828 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also rushed for 952 yards and 7 touchdowns, which was then a new Big East and WVU record for quarterback rushing yards in a season.
No. 3: White had his coming out party in the Sugar Bowl, rushing for 77 yards and throwing for 120 yards and a TD in a 38-35 victory.
White, running back Steve Slaton, and fullback Owen Schmitt were featured on one of the six regional covers of the August 21, 2006, issue of Sports Illustrated, as part of their "Big Men On Campus" article and their 2006-2007 college football season preview. Slaton was named West Virginia's "Big Man On Campus" in the same issue.
2006 Season: Big East Offensive Player of the Year
White followed up a tremendous freshman season with a great sophomore season, in which he passed for 1,655 yards and 13 TDs and rushed for 1,219 yards and 18 touchdowns on his way to being named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the first-team all-Big East squad. He was considered the leader of the team and his three best performances of the year came in the Gator Bowl, in the loss to Louisville when White continued to try to come back late in the game, and against Pittsburgh in the annual rivalry game, a 45-27 win, when he threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns. His 200+ rushing and passing yards makes him one of only eight players in NCAA history to do so in a game. He was also caught on camera mocking the Pitt Panther growl by a national ESPN audience in that game.[4] Pittsburgh linebacker H. B. Blades, who was an all-Big East selection that season, said, "Pat White is the best quarterback in college football," after the loss.
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No. 5: White and RB Steve Slaton combined for 2,963 yards and 31 touchdowns rushing in the season.
In the Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech, White battled ankle, neck, and wrist injuries and a 35-17 third-quarter deficit to bring the Mountaineers back to win 38-35 without the help of back Steve Slaton, who was out with injuries as well. White took the ball on 10 of the last 12 plays, gaining 54 yards and four first downs, to run out the clock for the Mountaineers. Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler said when asked the three players he liked to watch in college football, "Three? Forget it. How about one? Pat White. Dude is unbelievable. I mean, he can do it all. He's fast, he stronger than he looks and he can throw it. White earned the Alabama Athlete of the Year award on May 8, 2007, for his sophomore season. He was also granted the key to his hometown of Daphne.
White's all-purpose offense total of 2,878 yards is ranked third on the most total offense yards in a season in West Virginia school history, while his 1,219 rushing yards is the most ever in a season by a West Virginia quarterback, breaking his 2005 record.
2007 Season: Continued Success
In the season opener against Western Michigan, White ended the day going 10-of-18 with 192 yards and two touchdowns through the air, also rushing for 98 yards and two touchdowns as the Mountaineers won 62-24. White's first rushing touchdown was a 38-yard scramble. In the next week against Marshall, the Mountaineers pulled away in the second half with 42 points to win the game 48-23. White led West Virginia to the win with 149 passing yards and two touchdowns and 125 rushing yards and a touchdown - WVU's first score of the game coming off of White's 46-yard pass to Darius Reynaud. In the third game of the season against Maryland, White was eight of thirteen passing with 92 yards and eleven rushes for 22 yards and a touchdown in the 31-14 win.
Proving he was a bona fide dual threat, White went 18-of-20 for 186 yards and 2 TD's vs. ECU, adding 9 rushes for 44 yards and 2 TD's. The Mountaineers' lost against USF 21-13 at South Florida the following game. White was injured in the game, but went 12-18 for 100 yards, although throwing his first interception on the season. The next game against Syracuse in a 55-14 win, White went 12-15 with 148 yards for a touchdown before injuring his shoulder. He also had 89 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while being named Big East Player of the Week. At homecoming against Mississippi State, White only played the first half of the 38-13 blowout of the Bulldogs - totaling 8-of-12 passing with 61 yards and a touchdown and had five rushes for 89 yards, including a 64-yard run on the first play of the game for a touchdown. In New Jersey against #25 Rutgers, White threw for 144 yards while going 10-of-16, also rushing for 156 yards on 22 carries for a touchdown - accounting for 300 total yards of offense in the 31-3 win. Against Louisville, White led the Mountaineers to a 38-31 dramatic win.
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In the 28-23 win on the road against #22 Cincinnati, White led the Mountaineers to the victory by going 13-of-19 for 140 passing yards with an interception and rushing 27 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns, a total of 295 total offensive yards. His 155 rushing yards put him over Vince Young on the career NCAA quarterback rushing list as he moved to over 3,000 career rushing yards, the first Big East quarterback ever to do so. White and the Mountaineers wrapped up the 2007 Big East Championship with their 66-21 win over #20 Connecticut. White ended the game by going 9 of 13 for 107 yards for a touchdown, but throwing a late interception, and running 16 times for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ended the game with a total of 293 yards and three total touchdowns.
WVU entered the game against Pittsburgh as 28 point favorites to win the 100th Backyard Brawl and earn a berth in the BCS championship game. The Mountaineers, however, could never get their high-powered offense going against the Panthers and were hurt by fumbles, missed field goals, a run game they could not stop, and a thumb injury to the non-throwing hand of White. Trailing by one possession late in the fourth quarter (Pat White's backup had scored the only touchdown for West Virginia), West Virginia twice had the ball in Pitt territory. White had just returned but both times failed to convert on fourth down plays. The final Pitt possession saw the underdogs run the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety as the clock expired. West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee missed two field goals in the game and Pitt's kicker missed one.
Needing to beat Pitt in the 100th Annual Backyard Brawl for a shot at the BCS Championship, an injured Pat White could not lead his team to victory.
Fueled by the loss to Pitt and the awkward departure of Rich Rodriguez, Pat White and interim coach Bill Stewart smashed Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, 48-28. In the 48-28 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma under interim head coach Bill Stewart, White earned the MVP award after passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 150 yards - his sixth career 300-yard game effort. ESPN ranked White's performance in the Fiesta Bowl as the No.
2008 Season: Senior Year
White was named to the Preseason All-American team. White began his senior season throwing for 5 TD's against Villanova. To open up the 2008 football season under head coach Bill Stewart, West Virginia defeated the Villanova Wildcats 48-21. White finished the day by completing 25 of 33 passes for 208 yards and a career-best and stadium-record five touchdowns, while also rushing for 63 yards. White's five passing touchdowns before a sell-out crowd is second-best in school history only to Marc Bulger's six in 1998, and his completions and attempts were also career-highs. In the following game against ECU, White was 11-of-18 for 72 yards and rushed 20 times for 97 yards in the 24-3 loss, for a total of only 169 yards of offense. West Virginia followed-up their loss to ECU with a 17-14 loss in overtime to Colorado, in which White rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 43 yards on 10-of-14 passing. White's 149 yards rushing led the team and his two touchdowns were the only scores of the game for WVU.
West Virginia began Big East play with a 24-17 victory over Rutgers, in which White was 12-of-17 for 137 yards and two touchdowns passing and rushed 11 times for 59 yards before being taken out in the 3rd quarter after being injured. However, White sat out for the Syracuse game with a head injury, but the Mountaineers won 17-6 - snapping White's consecutive starting streak of 19 games. White started the following game against Auburn, in which the Mountaineers won 34-17. White had two interceptions early in the game, but finished the victory with 174 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-21 passing.
West Virginia then defeated #25 Connecticut 35-13, picking up the team's first road victory of the season. In the win, White completed 11 of 18 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown and rushed 21 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. White finished the game with 230 total yards and three touchdowns - earning him Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors. However, the Mountaineers then lost the following Big East matchup against the Cincinnati Bearcats, 26-23 in overtime after a late comeback. White finished the game 20 of 38 passing for 219 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and also rushed 20 times for 41 yards - totaling 260 total yards in the loss.
White and the Mountaineers followed their loss with a 35-21 victory over Louisville in their annual series. White finished the game with 122 yards on 6-of-11 passing for two touchdowns and a season-high 200 yards on 21 carries for three touchdowns, including a 66-yard touchdown run. White's 200 rushing yards broke the NCAA record for most rushing yards in a career by a quarterback, passing Brad Smith for first place with his then-total of 4,292 yards. White's 5 total touchdowns (all of West Virginia's scores in the game), also made him become the most prolific scorer in Big East history, passing Donovan McNabb's 10-year record of 96 total touchdowns responsible for.
Following White's record-setting performance against Louisville, the Mountaineers were defeated by Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl to the score of 19-15. White finished the loss by going 15 of 28 passing for 143 yards with two interceptions and 12 rushes for 93 yards and a touchdown - a 54-yard scramble. For White's final regular season game as a Mountaineer, at home against South Florida, West Virginia promoted a "White-Out" to honor his career. In his Senior Night performance, a 13-7 victory over South Florida, White passed for 141 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 40 yards on a snow-covered field to finish his career at West Virginia in front of 48,000 white-clad fans.
White finished his collegiate career in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against North Carolina. White passed 26-for-32 for a career high 332 yards and 3 TD's, becoming the first QB in NCAA history to start and win four bowl games. White passed for a career-high 332 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-32 attempts, also rushing 21 times for 55 yards, as the Mountaineers defeated the Tar Heels 31-30. White ended his senior season with career-highs of 1,844 yards and 21 touchdowns on 180-of-274 passing with seven interceptions through the air and 974 yards rushing on 180 attempts for 8 touchdowns - totaling 2,818 yards and 29 touchdowns on offense.
Career Statistics and Accolades
White finished his career with 6,051 yards and 56 TD's passing and 4,480 yards and 47 TD's rushing - a total of 10,531 yards and 103 TD's over his career. His 4,480 career yards rushing are the second most among any quarterback in FBS history. One of five players in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in a season.
Jan. Jan. Jan. Dec. N. White finished his career with 6,051 yards and 56 touchdowns passing and 4,480 yards and 47 touchdowns rushing for a West Virginia record of 10,531 total yards and 103 touchdowns, the only player in Big East history to ever account for over 100 touchdowns from any position and the second-most total yards in league history. One of only nine players in NCAA history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards in a game, White posted the highest single-game rushing total by a quarterback in Big East history with 247 yards against Syracuse on Oct. 14, 2006.
Following the end of the regular season in his senior season of 2008, White was offered and accepted a bid to the Senior Bowl, where he worked out for scouts at quarterback. NFL Network's Mike Mayock predicted White to be the Senior Bowl MVP and be a 2nd round selection, while Mel Kiper, Jr. selected White as his #5 quarterback prospect in the class. White finished the Senior Bowl going 4 of 9 passing for 95 yards with a touchdown and 31 yards rushing on three rushes - totaling 126 yards with a touchdown. White officially received an invitation to the 2009 NFL Combine. Prior to Combine workouts, he told reporters that he was wi…
Post-Collegiate Career
After earning his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia in 2008, White was selected in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He was a backup for the Dolphins in 2009, and for the Washington Redskins in 2013. He finished his playing career as a backup for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2014.
A former two-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year as a quarterback at West Virginia, Pat White was named USF running backs coach on Jan. “We are very excited to have Pat join our staff and lead our running backs unit,” Scott said. “Pat was an electrifying player that I’m sure Bulls fans remember well. He played at a very high level, broke records and won a lot of games as a quarterback at West Virginia and has had tremendous success in two seasons coaching at Alcorn State.
White made an immediate impact in two seasons at Alcorn State (2018-19) where he coached alongside former WVU teammate Ryan Stanchek, who was the offensive coordinator. In 2019, White coached quarterback Felix Harper to earning SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and HBCU All-America First-Team honors. Harper ranked fourth in the nation in passing touchdowns (33), fifth in points responsible for per game (19.7), seventh in passing efficiency (160.7) and eighth in yards per completion (14.5). In his first season with Alcorn State in 2018, White developed quarterback Noah Johnson into the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and SWAC Championship Game Offensive MVP. Johnson was one of four finalists for the HBCU Player of the Year award and one of 25 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, honoring the best player in FCS.
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