Jason White
crawled to his knees and looked up at the clock as the
2003 Nokia Sugar Bowl came to a fitting conclusion and the
pro-LSU throng celebrated in the stands. He, along with
the rest of the Oklahoma players, tried to reconcile in
their minds the dichotomy that was their season. For
them, the first twelve games had been a breeze as they
amassed yards and accolades, among them being compared to
the greatest college football teams of all-time. That,
however, was followed by the last two games in which they
looked all too mortal. In 2004, the Big Red Machine looks
to be back in full force, maybe even better than ever.
Preseason awards are being heaped on Oklahoma players,
among them, Outland Trophy Award nominees and a staggering
three Thorpe Award nominees. Perhaps the only surprise is
that Jason White, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, is
now considered to be the weak link.
White goes
into the upcoming season with more on his shoulders than
any player in NCAA football. Oklahoma, a team that boasts
a roster so full of stars that it is expected to break the
current single season record for producing first round NFL
draft picks, shouldn’t be ranked number two nationally,
but they are. The image of the breakdown of late last
season is too fresh in the minds of coaches and fans to
bump them above USC. White seems to take it personally.
You can see in his face that there are scars on his heart
that have yet to heal and only a National Championship can
make the pain go away.
With the pain
he has endured and the adversity he has overcome in the
past two years, it is hard to be critical of Jason White.
In 2001 against Nebraska and then again in 2002 against
Alabama, his knees gave out, first one then the other.
Knees shouldn’t give out without contact, but White’s
knees did. When things like that happen once, most men
take pause and wonder if the pain of rehab is worth it.
When it happens twice, when the threat of it happening
again is looming over every cut to the left or right,
every sharp stop, and every awkward landing, most men
would decide the road back isn’t worth it. Jason White
showed that he is not most men. He persevered; he fought
through the pain and, against all odds, led the freight
train that was the Oklahoma Sooners through the first
twelve games of last year almost flawlessly. It was
unexpected and I bow to his heart in overcoming those
odds. I can’t help but like White, even root for him to
succeed, but, even with a Heisman Trophy under his belt, I
cannot honestly say that he deserves to be drafted any
time before the middle of day two of the NFL draft.
Looking at his numbers alone would certainly not lead you
to expect a position that late in the draft.
Last year,
White had a huge statistical year. After leading the NCAA
in passer rating for most of the year, he finished eighth
with a 158.6, he threw for 3,846 yards, and 40
touchdowns. On top of the impressive numbers, White shows
good form, an arm capable of getting the ball a good 60
yards downfield, good leadership skills, and good
accuracy. However, none of those traits is outstanding in
any way. His 61.6% completion percentage is respectable,
but with the time he was given to throw and the caliber of
receivers at his disposal, you would expect him to be
closer to 70%. When you see that he was sacked 26 times,
you start to question whether he held the ball too long,
and indeed that was the case. Watching OU games, it
becomes painfully obvious that too many times he held on
to the ball despite having an open receiver down field.
In addition you can see that on quick outs to one of his
receivers the catch would be made, but the throw was
actually off. The OU receivers command a lot of respect
from opposing defensive backs and they got a lot of room,
so inconsistent accuracy was not obvious because someone
like Clayton could reach down or reach behind him and make
the catch. The athleticism of the receivers would allow
them to still have enough time to make a good move on the
first defender who engaged him, and in Clayton’s case, it
was usually an excellent move which resulted in lots of
yards. However, in the NFL, a throw like that will often
result in a just a few yards on a 3rd and 6 instead of
converting for a 1st down on a throw that is on target.
On deep throws, White was often late in making the read
and just ended up throwing the ball for one of his guys to
go and get it. Although it happened to work many times,
if had he seen that his man was a step behind the defender
he could have turned the jump balls into sure catches.
Those
weaknesses were exposed in the last two games of the year
against Kansas State and LSU. Kansas State and LSU were
able to speed up the game and force him to make quick
decisions and, as a result, he completed more touchdowns
to the opposition than to his own team. With OU’s
excellent offensive line, White had become accustomed to
having a good five seconds to throw, but in those two
games, he was suddenly faced with the kind of time he’ll
be given in the NFL and he failed miserably in adjusting
to the speed of the game. Perhaps that is something he
can adjust to as he continues on his quest to play in the
NFL, but it is unlikely. Jason White has never been a
mobile quarterback; if he is to make something happen, it
has to come from his arm. Pure pocket passers must be
able to make quick enough reads and decisions to know
where to throw the ball or when to throw it away. White
doesn’t seem to have that knowledge and perhaps, that is
the fatal flaw in his game.
After
winning the Heisman last year, White surprisingly
requested another year of eligibility, which was granted
by the NCAA because he’d previously lost two full seasons
to injury. For White, it was a wise thing to do because
it was widely accepted that he would not have been drafted
on day one last year. With an extra year he hopes to
change that. It is possible, some say probable, that
White will come out this year and lead the Sooners to a
monster season. If so, he will be in the running for a
second Heisman and if the voters don’t decide to cast
their vote elsewhere as a sort of “payback” for his
failures in the last two games of last year, he is a
legitimate candidate to win it. He should relax and enjoy
the upcoming season and bask in the college accolades he
is bound to receive. Regardless of those accolades, it is
highly unlikely that he’ll be able to change his game
enough to propel him into the first day of the NFL draft.
