West Virginia senior quarterback Pat White shined in his final collegiate game as he passed WVU to a comeback win over North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl
December 28, 2008
(Philadelphia, Pa) --- For years I have heard that West
Virginia 5th-year senior quarterback Pat White was nothing more than a glorified
running back. Well to everyone that assumed White was not a “thrower”, just take
a look at his performance in his final collegiate game.
White may have finally silenced scouts, who questioned his passing ability
throwing for 332 yards in his final college game, including the game-winning
20-yard touchdown pass to Alric Arnett in the fourth quarter to give West
Virginia a 31-30 comeback victory over North Carolina on Saturday in the Meineke
Bowl.
The most storied running quarterback in college football history – added 55
rushing yards to push his record to 4,480 rushing yards – came out throwing in
his final game and he did not disappoint producing his best passing day in his
prolific college career. White completed his 14 of his first 15 attempts on the
way to a 26 of 32, 332 yards (hit seven different receivers), three touchdowns,
and one interception passing performance, which put a huge cherry on top of his
WVU resume. White was also voted MVP of a bowl for the third straight year and
set an NCAA record by being the only starting quarterback to go 4-0 in bowl
games.
After the game, West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said of
White. "He's the greatest to ever wear the old gold and blue. It's a fitting
tribute that this man's the MVP." A giddy White added in the postgame press
conference, "Knowing that this is the last time I'm going to put on this
uniform, I definitely wanted to go out on top and we accomplished that."
To everyone that automatically wants to paint White as the next “Antwaan Randle
El slot receiver type” before allowing him to throw in the NFL, shame on you --
imagine the possibilities out of the "Wildcat" formation. I say give the kid a
chance – remember the Patriots drafted former NFL quarterback great Rich Gannon
as a DB – before an automatic conversion. To his credit White has signed on to
participate in the Senior Bowl to prove or not prove that he is an NFL caliber
passer.
--- Submitted by Lloyd Vance
