Kevin White, the West Virginia product who took the NFL Combine by storm this year, heads in to the draft as one of the top wide receiver prospects.
There's a lot of confidence in Kevin White, a premiere wide receiver from West Virginia who took the NFL Scouting Combine by storm.
His attitude matches his talent. This past season with the Mountaineers, White compiled 109 catches, 1,477 yards and 10 touchdowns, numbers that are even more impressive considering his production the year before.
In 2013, White caught just 35 passes for 507 yards but he quickly turned things around as a senior, firing off seven straight 100-yard games to start the year.
"I don't feel that any receiver can do what I can do," White told reporters at the combine in February. "Whether it's blocking, creating space, taking a tunnel screen to the house, I do it all. [I] don't feel like guys can do what I can do. Not saying that to be cocky, just confident. I feel like I'm one of a kind."
In his junior year he said, "he put bad film out" and re-dedicated himself for his final season, putting "everything on the line."
His turnaround helped label him as one of the top three wide receivers (including Alabama's Amari Cooper and Louisville's DeVante Parker) entering the combine, but his performance at Lucas Oil Stadium may have propelled him to be the No. 1 wide out heading into the Draft.
White, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, ran a time of 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash—beating both Cooper and Parker-- had a 36.5-inch vertical jump and leapt 10 feet, 3 inches in the broad jump.
"Everyone dreams of being the first draft pick at their position," White said. "It would mean a lot I'm sure to Amari Cooper and the other receivers as well."
After high school, White enrolled in junior college at Lackawana in Scranton, Pa., where his numbers were anything but spectacular. He caught 36 passes for 545 yards for six touchdowns in nine games. He put his remaining efforts into school and eventually West Virginia gave him a chance.
The enhanced concentration was something that remained with him.
"I witnessed how [Lackawana] head coach [Mark] Duda structured everything," White said. "Had to be on top of class. Had study hall hours. If you didn't pass or didn't have above a C, you didn't play. So he instilled that."
White said he learned that "hard work definitely pays off."
"A lot of guys there had great talent and should have definitely been Division I, but they didn't work hard, so they didn't make it up," he said./
As for the learning process on the field, White has enhanced all facets of his game. His strength and athletic ability come in handy for catching passes, sure, but he's also realized that blocking is an integral part of position.
"I think I put a lot of fear in defensive backs just because I block so well," White said. "When I come off the line I'm quicker than they expect. By the time they realize it, it's already a done deal."
RELATED LINKS:
-- Mike Mayock Shares His Top 5 NFL Draft Rising Stars
-- Arik Armstead Hopes Focus On Football Pays Off
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