Recently released White to pursue baseball career; where did it go wrong?
Just because Pat White was a disappointment as an NFL quarterback, that doesn’t mean he can’t be a professional athlete. The former Miami Dolphin is out to prove it as he has signed a minor league baseball contract with the Kansas City Royals.
White finishes his NFL career having played just one season. He proved to be a huge disappointment as the Dolphins drafted him in the second round in 2009. White had been drafted four times by MLB teams but stuck to football. White quarterbacked the West Virginia Mountaineers and was an exciting player throughout his collegiate career. Unfortunately as past history proves, success in college football doesn’t always translate to success in the big league.
White played in just two games last season. He was primarily used in the Dolphins’ Wildcat formation and was a disappointment as a passer. He went 0-for-5 as a passer and rushed for 81 yards on 21 attempts.
He played last season in a game against the New England Patriots and dazzled coaches with an impressive 33-yard run, but that was all he could muster. In the Dolphins' final game last season, White played following an injury to Chad Henne. White suffered a helmet-to-helmet collision with Steelers’ linebacker Ike Taylor and suffered a concussion and was carted off the field. That would be the last time White left the field as an NFL quarterback.
The Dolphins cut White and kept Henne, Chad Pennington and Tyler Thigpen as their three quarterbacks. The New York Yankees most recently drafted White in 2009, as he is still a phenomenal athlete. In the NFL though, it takes more than athleticism to succeed and for whatever reason, White just never cut it in the NFL.
White will now pursue another career in an instrumental league. With his talent, there is hope for him to succeed as a professional athlete. The Dolphins simply made a mistake in drafting him in the second round. Either he should have been converted to a receiver or should have been taken much later in the draft. Former Dolphins VP of football operations Bill Parcells was never a big fan of the selection and coach Tony Sparano seldom used White.
The first time White was drafted by an MLB team was back in 2004 when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim offered him a six-figure salary. White resisted the tempting offer to pursue a football career, beginning in the NCAA. He set the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 4,480 yards in four years at West Virginia, but he said the decision to go with football was one of the hardest he’s ever had to make.
"That was definitely a hard decision for me at that time, deciding whether to go to school and play college football or try my hand at professional baseball, but at the end the excitement of college football got the better of me," he said
When the Dolphins released White he had two choices. He could either join another football league such as the UFL or the CFL. That would have given him a chance to build his name and possibly show teams he could be successful. His second option was giving baseball another try. The Royals also understand that White may eventually want to give pro football another shot down the road and are open to him playing both sports. He has that much potential as an athlete.
If White does turn out to be a successful baseball player, he might be wise to stick with it. He’s given football a shot and he had tremendous success in college but his skills are limited to running and his arm may be better suited for throwing a baseball. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying success at another sport.
White still has something to offer given his speed and his heart. This might not be the last time we see Pat White’s name on the sports page; best of luck to him on his new career path.
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