SPRINGHILL – With football season in sight, the the top player in Webster Parish and one of the top players in the country is ready to roll following a busy summer on the camp circuit.
Devin White has been on all over the country this summer, including stops in Beaverton, Oregon, for the Opening and Baltimore for the the Rivals Five Star Challenge.
“I visited Alabama, LSU, Florida State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Ole Miss and TCU,” White said. “Then the Opening was one of the best experiences of my life. If I could do that every week I would.”
But with his busy summer coming to a close, the 6-foot, 258-pound athlete is looking forward to his senior season at North Webster and getting the Knights to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome come December.
“We’ve made some big runs, but I’m trying to get over that hump and get to the dome,” said White.
“I’ve got a lot of love for North Webster and Springhill. I passed on a great opportunity to go play at the IMG Academy in Florida. My mom graduated from Springhill so I want to keep that in the family. I just want to do everything I can here.”
White’s good friend and former Calvary Baptist quarterback Shea Patterson recently left the state for IMG Academy. Patterson is an Ole Miss
commit.
With all the hype surrounding White, football is a team sport, and he said the Knights will have plenty of other firepower this year.
“Ke’Untra Gipson is a senior linebacker,” White said. “He is dominant on defense and special teams. Xavious Eason at runningback and on special teams, Rico Gonzalez at both linebacker and defensive end is going to make some plays for us. Then there’s Conroe McMullan at kicker; he always puts us in good position and Dallas Lay on the line is a four year starter like me and Conroe.”
Of those Knights, White is the only one to land a magazine cover this fall.
When the well-known Louisiana Football Magazine hits stands at the beginning of August. White will be in the center of it all, literally.
“It was crazy,” White said. “To be there as one of the top players in the state of Louisiana is a blessing. When they called me about it I cleared my plans to go because that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
On the recruiting front, White remains a coveted target, and with the recent announcement of his top 10, it seems he’s likely to land somewhere in the Southeastern Conference.
“With LSU, they give you the home state pitch and their running backs coach Frank Wilson is second to none,” White said. “At Arkansas they like big running backs and running the ball, plus they have the biggest offensive line in the world. My cousin Jared Cornelius is there so I would have someone to take me under their wing and mentor me. I really like their depth chart situation too.”
“Alabama, they were one of the first schools to offer me my freshmen year. They recently had another running back kicked off the team and they have some guys who may leave after this year so the depth chart is good their as well.”
The last of the SEC schools thought to be seriously in it for White is Ole Miss.
“I think Ole Miss has the best pitch you could throw at a recruit,” White said. “Your best friend (Patterson) is going to be there. I have a good relationship with coach Shawn Patterson as well and I like that coach Hugh Freeze’s program is all about family. They’ve already said I can play either side of the ball, it’s basically on me.”
With his senior season set to slow the recruiting process for awhile, White is still firm on his decision to wait for National Signing Day to make a choice.
“On National Signing Day, I want the ESPN cameras in Springhill at North Webster.”