Name recognition has TCU corner White on a mission
TCU’s Kevin White tried to check in at the hotel where prospects stay. But the front desk clerk informed White that he had already checked in.
“I was like, ‘No, I didn’t,’” White said. “Then, when I got to doing the medical tests, they were like, ‘You already did it.’ I was like, ‘No, I didn’t.’”
White has the same name as West Virginia’s Kevin White. West Virginia’s White plays receiver. TCU’s Kevin White plays corner.
“It’s just a lot of confusion going on,” TCU’s White said. “I mean, we’ve got the same name, so people don’t know what to expect.”
White insists that West Virginia’s White is the “other Kevin White,” not him. He has a case.
The cornerback earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors for his game against West Virginia. In TCU’s 31-30 victory, he held the receiver to three catches for 28 yards, one of only four games the West Virginia player had fewer than 100 yards.
So while scouts left the Scouting Combine raving about West Virginia’s White, he might have been only the second-best Kevin White there.
“I would say he’s ‘the other Kevin White,’ based off, you know, we beat ’em, and I had a pretty good game, so I’m the top Kevin White,” TCU’s White said.
White and safety Chris Hackett hope to make their school “DBU,” or “Defensive Back U.” The Horned Frogs have had four defensive backs drafted since 2011, and White and Hackett are next.
In 2011, Colin Jones went in the sixth round and Malcolm Williams in the seventh. Greg McCoy was a seventh-round pick in 2012. Last year, Jason Verrett went 25th overall to the San Diego Chargers.
“We are trying to become DBU,” White said. “We’ve got Hackett here. We’ve got [strong safety] Sam Carter in the draft, too. We’ve got a lot of young guys at TCU that people don’t really know about. We play some defense over there.”
Dane Brugler, a draft analyst for CBS Sports and NFL Draft Scout, projects Hackett as a second-round pick and White as a third-rounder.
Brugler said Hackett “is a very solid prospect across the board, but not above average in any one area and might not be reliable enough to be a viable long-term NFL starter.”
Hackett, who had seven interceptions last season and 12 in his three-year career, insists he’s the top prospect at his position.
“I think I bring a lot of ball-hawking skills, and I’m a playmaker in the air, on the ground,” Hackett said. “I think defenses will like me.”
White’s size — 5-foot-9, 183 pounds — could limit him at the next level. Some scouts see him only as a nickel corner. But White has everything else teams want in a cornerback.
“He is pint-sized for the position and his lack of length shows up quite a bit in coverage, but he has the athletic process to plant, gather and go,” Brugler said. “Although his size limitations also hinder his ability as a run defender, White’s cup is overfilling with confidence and toughness to hold his own as a nickel corner. He will guess wrong at times, but his short-area quickness and sticky cover skills transition well to the NFL level.”
Charean Williams, 817-390-7760
Combine winners and losers
The NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up Monday. Here are this year’s winners and losers:
Winners
▪ DE/OLB Vic Beasley, Clemson: The 6-3, 246-pound edge rusher had a 40 time of 4.53, did 35 reps on the 225-pound bench, had a 41-inch vertical and had excellent shuttle times (6.91 three-cone drill, 4.15 20-yard shuttle).
▪ CB Byron Jones, Connecticut: The 6-foot-1, 199-pounder set a combine record and drew the attention of USA Track & Field with a broad jump of 12-3. Jones played seven games last season before tearing the labrum in his left shoulder, requiring surgery.
▪ CB Trae Waynes, Michigan State: The 6-foot, 186-pounder solidified his spot at the top of his position with a 4.32 in the 40 and a good showing in position drills.
▪ WR Kevin White, West Virginia: The 4.35 that he ran in the 40-yard dash officially makes the 6-foot-2 1/2, 215-pounder “a freak,” according to draft analyst Mike Mayock. White also had a 36 1/2-inch vertical and a 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump.
▪ QB Jameis Winston, Florida State: He hit it out of the park, impressing in interviews with teams and the passing drills. The only thing he didn’t do well was the 40-yard dash, running a 4.97, but everyone already knew he wasn’t fast.
Losers
▪ QB Shane Carden, East Carolina: After struggling at the Senior Bowl, the 6-foot-2, 218-pounder did nothing at the combine to help his stock. Many scouts rate him a “system quarterback,” and he might go undrafted.
▪ LB Paul Dawson, TCU: The 235-pounder ran only a 4.93 in the 40, had a 28-inch vertical and a 9-foot, 1-inch broad jump. He also drew low marks for his work in the position drills. Dawson needs a solid Pro Day to move back up into the first-round conversation.
▪ OT Brandon Scherff, Iowa: He had 23 reps in the bench and ran a 5.07 in the 40, but the Outland Trophy winner injured his right hamstring in position drills. The 6-foot-5, 319-pounder still projects as a first-round pick, but some scouts believe he might be a better fit at guard in the NFL.
▪ WR Ty Montgomery, Stanford: The 6-foot, 221-pounder had trouble holding onto the football in position drills, and scouts had expected a faster 40 time than the 4.55 he ran.
▪ LB/S Shaq Thompson, Washington: Scouts don’t know the position the 6-foot, 228-pounder best fits, and he has ruled out a move back to running back. He was not nearly as fast (4.64) or athletic (33 1/2-inch vertical, 9-foot, 9-inch broad jump) as advertised.
This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Name recognition has TCU corner White on a mission."