2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Stephen White, ATH, Lindsey Wilson College
- Name: Stephen White
- Height: 5ft 10in
- Weight:215
- Position:RB/Safety/OLB
- College: Lindsey Wilson College/ Baker University/ Western Kentucky University/ Middle Tennessee State University
- Twitter: @TheStephenWhite
Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?
• I grew up in Franklin, TN, which is about ten minutes south of Nashville. The city itself is very beautiful and peaceful. Luckily because of the wealth our community carries, I was able to have access to a lot of great training facilities and other opportunities growing up that evolved me into the elite athlete I am today.
List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?
• 1.Film Study 2.Strength and conditioning 3. practice. I believe film study is always the most important, you can study your opponent for hours, and watch the same clip hundreds of times, and you will see something different every time you watch that clip. It outweighs the other two because it doesn’t matter the game plan your coaches put together. If you as a player don’t understand every possible outcome for a play, from every player and every team that you play against than you are more of a risk to your team than an asset. My number two is strength and conditioning solely for the fact that you can practice all day, but if you cannot give 100% for all four quarters, and outlast every single player that lines up against you than the practice means absolutely nothing. Practice is very important though, repetition of reps is a must. The more you see it the more adaptive to it you will become. In order to win if it was up to me, I would not put either of the three at a higher level of importance than the other. I think they all need to be treated and attacked at the same intensity and level in order to win.
What do you worry about, and why?
• I fear nothing and no one, I know as long as I wake up that God has my back and through him I can conquer all obstacles.
Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?
• I don’t believe in failure because there is always an option to do better. It is only failure if that outcome is the end of the quest. As long as you put whatever error you make behind you and learn from it to grow you can overcome anything. In 2014 at Middle Tennessee State University I failed my body by not taking care of it the right way. I was already a walk-on and had no room for error, so when I tore my hamstring and the coaches removed from the team I was devastated and had every option to give up. 6 years later I’m still playing the game I love the most, with an opportunity at hand to play at a professional level.
If that’s not overcoming a setback I don’t know what is.
What do your teammates say is your best quality?
• My knowledge and experience of the game, and the will to put the team before myself always.
Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?
•The best player I played with was Kevin Byard, All pro safety for the Tennessee Titans. The best player I played against was Brandon doughty. He was one of the best quarterbacks I had the opportunity to play against and along side. He broke multiple records at WKU and went on to play in the NFL with the Dolphins.
What would your career be if you couldn’t play football?
• If I couldn’t play football then I would coach football, there is no other option. regardless of my situation I will make one or the other happen.
Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?
• Your room is your home and a representation of your character. I would make sure my room was clean every day.
If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?
• Although I do not value ones life more than another persons, I would save my family every time. Family is everything to me.
If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?
• I would be scooby doo because he’s a dog and I have a dog mentality.
Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?
• Having to transfer from D1 to NAIA in order to gain more years of eligibility after my hamstring injury. I sacrificed every status I already had in hopes of one day getting to this point. I’ve fought through every obstacle and I’m still fighting, and I’m gonna keep fighting until the day that I die.
What is your most embarrassing moment?
• I tried to cut my own hair, and I didn’t have batteries for the liner so the next day I had to go to practice with a jacked up hairline, and let’s just say my teammates let me have it.
What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?
• 2019 we were at Warner university I fought through a block and almost picked a screen and took it to the house. This play was memorable for me because it changed the way I prepared each week. I studied that opponent for numerous hours that week, and I was sure I knew everything I would see. They ran a double screen with the running back and receiver. Although I was able to make a play because of my ability. I didn’t remember seeing that play one time on film, which made me realize I wasn’t studying my opponent hard enough. That’s when I started not only watching teams film from the current and the previous season, but I also started watching film from multiple seasons before to learn every tendency of not just the players but the coaches as well.
What song best describes your work ethic?
• started from the bottom- Drake
What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level?
• Laser focus and giving 100% on every task at hand. Your natural ability can only carry you so far, but your mind can break an infinite amount of barriers.
If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?
• I would bring back my first cousin Paul. He was murdered in cold blood, and I never got a chance to say goodbye.
If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it?
• The Film Room
Who is the most underrated player in the NFL?
• Lamar Jackson
Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?
• Respected. I could careless who likes me, but I’m gonna make sure you respect me.
What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?
• Michael Vick because yes he made a mistake, but the back lash he received ultimately tarnished his career. Even though he bounced back I think he would have had more recognition as one of the greatest players of all time.
Do you love to win, or hate to lose?
• I hate to lose more than I love to win
Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?
• My brother Jonathan, we both had similar situations in our college football careers, and every time I had any doubt he erased it from my mind immediately. If I thought I was doing enough, he would tell me I wasn’t. He expected nothing less than excellence, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have someone like that in my corner.
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