Draft Prospect Profile: Pat White, QB West Virginia

Name: Pat White

Position: Quarterback

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 192 LBs

Excellence shined in a come from behind win that included 26 of 32 passing for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns from Senior West Virginia quarterback Pat White in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

White continued to show, as he has all season and throughout his career that he could be a professional quarterback. White, who many compare to Mike Vick (only on the field), is arguably the best rushing quarterback in college football history. His rushing ability, which includes 974 yards on the ground in 2008, is not what is in question. It’s his height and throwing ability.

Scouting

At 6’1” White goes into the combine a little smaller than the average quarterback prospect. With the lack of size, comes doubt and many NFL scouts believe that Pat White would be a better running back or wide receiver. Either way, there is not a doubt that White is an NFL athlete, it just comes down to whether he can make adjustments or not. I honestly think he would have the most value as at the quarterback position. There are plenty of good quarterbacks that are undersized (see Drew Brees) that can have success. What matters is that he is a playmaker. Twice in his four colligate seasons has his QB rating been over 150. In his four years, he has accumulated 56 passing touchdowns compared to 23 interceptions. Throughout his career he has thrown for 6000 plus yards. Not bad for a running quarterback.

Granted, he only went over 200 yards passing three times this year, it is still worth a team to take a look at Pat White late in the draft, in hopes of developing a starter for the future. In a deep quarterback class (Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Matt Stafford), White could be the diamond in the rough, or he could be the best of the busts (Vince Young, Eric Couch, Akali Smith). Any way it ends up, He is worth a mid-round draft pick talent wise.

Personality

According to West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart, White is, “the greatest winner of college football today.” Stewart also went on to say that White is “the greatest to ever wear the old gold and blue.” Beyond on the field, Pat White has also drawn great raves from his head coach. Bill Stewart continued the praise of White after the Meineke Car Care Bowl, saying that He hopes his son turns out to be the type of man that White is. It is that type of attitude that teams these days have to be looking for, considering many athletes shoot themselves in the leg in off the field situations (pun fully intended).

On the field, there has never been a question about his desire to win. White has started four bowl games and bought home three consecutive bowl game MVPs to end his college career. With that being said, it seems that White would do whatever it takes to get on the football field. Those are the guys that you want playing for you on Sundays.

Comparisons

Pat White often reminds me of Mike Vick, simply because of the way both took over ballgames at the college level. Size wise, they match up pretty well, and I believe that White can produce that well in time.

Combining his attitude, smarts and play on the field, I do see flashes of Randall Cunningham. Is that to say that White is really that talented? No. But he could be that type of game changer on the field.