NFL Draft: West Virginia’s Kevin White Continues to Impress

Sep 20, 2014; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Kevin White (11) gets away from Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Geneo Grissom (85) during the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

We wrote in the pre-game on Saturday about how big of a stage the Oklahoma vs. West Virginia game was for the NFL Draft hopes of quarterback Clint Trickett and wide receiver Kevin White. Trickett had a decent game, but made a couple of really untimely mistakes with the football while White was stellar when given opportunities, though WVU could have involved him even more.

White, a 6’3″ 210 pound breakout player this season, caught 10 passes for 173 yards including a 68 yard touchdown. The Mountaineers got him involved early, and it helped them to a couple of first half leads, but Oklahoma was too much in the end.

As sorry as I am to Sooner fans to say this, the result of the game wasn’t really my main focus in watching this one. Kevin White has broken out this season, catching now a total of 42 passes for 633 yards and three touchdowns in four games. His yards per reception have increased every game WVU has played, and this guy continues to look like an NFL-ready receiver.

Be it his size, speed, strength, field awareness, ability after the catch, or his soft hands, White is a guy who is really impressing me of late. In fact, I’d go so far as to say he might be rising into a first round grade status for me. I don’t see a lot of flaw in his game that I would point to as preventing me from taking him with a top pick other than the fact that this is his first real year of showing this kind of ability.

He’s still pretty green.

That being said, maybe it’s the dreadlocks or the fact that he wears number 11, but the way this guy plays kind of reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald. Obviously, Fitzgerald is one of the best receivers to play football ever, so that’s a lofty comparison, but he kind of gives me those vibes a bit. He’s a guy who can do everything well and has big, reliable hands.

West Virginia didn’t beat Oklahoma, but they hung around for three quarters and I think White used this stage to establish himself as a very good, perhaps top tier talent at the wide receiver position.