It’s been an eventful offseason for North Webster High School athlete Devin White, if there is such a thing.
The junior runningback/lineback has been busy on the camp circuit, recently traveling to Dallas for the Dallas Regional showcase for “The Opening”.
The Opening is is a four-day, invitation only scouting combine held at Nike World headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Only the top 150 high school football prospects in the country – as chosen at The Opening regionals held nationwide – can attend.
Thanks to a dazzling display of athleticism (4.57 40-yard dash and 34-inch vertical jump), White will be getting open in Oregon, July 5-10, with the 149 of the other top prospects nationwide.
To top off the good news, White recently gave a pledge to play in the Under Armour High School All-American football game.
The 6-foot tall, 260-pound prospect took some time to reflect on his busy spring.
“First of all it’s a blessing,” White said. “To get open is a hard achievement. There are thousands of kids trying to achieve this right now and they only have 150 invites they can give out. Really, it’s just a blessing.”
A blessing indeed, but White has put in the hard work in order to receive those blessings.
“I have been working hard,” White said. “I’ve been doing the shuttles and trying to keep my forty (time) down. I go to Shreveport two or three days a week to work with a speed trainer and I run track. I work a lot on my game by myself, so it’s nice to see people recognize me and see the hard work paying off.”
One unique aspect of The Opening is that the camp is run by NFL players, both past and present.
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Players such as Jerry Rice, Patrick Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald and Darrell Revis will be working hard with the prospects, including White.
“It’s just great,” White said of working with some of the games elite. “They’re going to give you a lot of knowledge about things you don’t know about recruitment, teach you some stuff on the field and just work out with them. It’s going to be a learning experience. You can never take in too much information.”
With the whirlwind of camps, calls from coaches, and college football fans around the country pleaing for his services, White has leaned on the advice of guys who have already been through the process.
“I’ve talked to Leonard Fournette from LSU,” White said. “Miles Jack from UCLA, who plays both runningback and linebacker for them, and Donte Moncrief who went to Ole Miss and plays for the Colts.
Southern Miss’s runningbacks coach called me today. I thought he was calling me to recruit me to the school, but he was just calling to say ‘Man, I was a runningback. I’ve been in your position before and there’s a lot I can help you with.’”
White still has one goal that stands above The Opening, the Under Armour game or any other honor for that matter.
Winning a state championship with his teammates and coaches at North Webster.
“I’m focused on what’s in front of me,” White said. “That’s being a team player and trying to win a state championship. I’ll take a state championship over anything. I know a lot of the young guys are looking up to me. I just have to lead them by example. I know if guys see me doing the right things, they’ll do the right things. When everyone is doing the right thing, good things are going to happen.”
