Ask Manuel White about his early take on the NFL and he'll have this to say: "It's fast and intense, that's for sure. No one's going through the motions, because everyone's out here trying to earn a job."
Donning the No. 48 this weekend at Redskins Park, the 6-2, 244-pound White had something of the look and mannerisms of a young Stephen Davis.
White, the Redskins' fourth-round pick (120th overall) in last weekend's NFL draft in New York, is one of 70 young players--including draft picks, new free-agent additions and players given special workouts--at Redskins Park for a three-day Rookie Camp.
His story is one of the most intriguing.
A fifth-year senior at UCLA a year ago, White rushed 164 times for 764 yards and eight scores. He added 20 receptions for 115 yards and a score.
The Redskins are giving him a look at H-Back, a position at which White is basically unfamiliar.
"It's interesting," he said Friday at Redskin Park. "I didn't play too much H-back in college. As far as the playbook, I knew what I had to do but reacting to the coverages and things like that on the field was something new to me."
Redskins coaches see White as an all-around talent and perhaps a project in the works. He runs in the 4.6 range, with pass-catching abilities and the size needed to break tackles. At Valencia High School, White ran for 6,746 yards, the fourth-best total in California high school history.
Running backs coach Earnest Byner held White after practice on Saturday. The two went over several ground game packages.
"With more practice, I'll get better," White said.
White played with Redskins defensive lineman Ryan Boschetti at UCLA. He joins a contingent of Redskins rookie draft picks that includes a player he faced in the Pac-10, Stanford's Jared Newberry.
According to White, his favorite team in terms of football at the video game level was always the Redskins and among his favorite players was Davis, the former Washington Pro Bowler now with the Carolina Panthers.
Of course, the Redskins did exceptionally at the H-back spot in last year's draft, coming up with Chris Cooley out of Utah State on the third round (81st overall pick). Cooley, in his rookie year, came up with 37 catches for 314 yards and six TDs.
