LenDale White, RB, Tennessee Titans

May 10, 2006 @ 14:29:34

By Bryce McRae
Edited by KFFL Staff

Background

For the past three years, University of Southern California running back LenDale White has been the thunder to his partner, running back Reggie Bush's lightning. While Bush was garnering all the headlines (and a Heisman Trophy), White quietly was racking up a career that was almost equally impressive. The Denver native was never the No. 1 running back on the Trojans roster, and, for most of his career, he has taken a back seat to Bush. However, in career rushing yards he only ranks 10 yards below Bush and he compiled more rushing touchdowns over his career (52) than any Trojan has in the school's history. For his career, he piled up 3,159 rushing yards, 331 receiving yards and 57 total touchdowns. 

Positives

When White arrived on campus in the 2003 season it was to less fanfare than what was directed upon fellow freshmen Bush. White would go on to set a USC freshman record for most touchdowns in a season (13) and would place second on the list for most rushing yards by a freshman. This all came without starting a game, as he was mainly a sub for Reggie Bush and then-returning starter Herschel Davis. This would set White's role as career backup at running back, but what a backup he was.

White runs with power, which was the perfect counterbalance to Bush's speed and elusiveness. While some have concerns over how Bush will hold up at the pro level there are no concerns with White, who weighs in at 235 pounds and stands 6-foot-2. He also has surprising speed for a man his size. Think of him as an Eddie George-type running back, circa 2000.

White has also shown up for the big games, garnering three touchdowns and 124 yards in this year's Rose Bowl loss against the Texas Longhorns. As well, you can count on him to hold onto the ball, as he never gave up a fumble in his college career.

White's biggest plus side would have to be his nose for the end zone. While he doesn't have the breakaway speed of some running backs, when he gets near the end zone he has the ability to find a way into the end zone no matter what. That is something you can't teach. This was shown by his 52 rushing touchdowns over three years, an average of over 17 per season.

Negatives

One of the knocks on White is that he has not been a great receiver out of the backfield. Prior to this year he only had 17 receptions for 112 yards, although three of those were for touchdowns. This season he managed 219 receiving yards on 14 catches giving him a phenomenal 15.6 yards per reception average. However, it is unknown whether this was more a product of playing with the Heisman Trophy winner or his own skill.

Which leads us to other knocks on White, being: he has never been a feature back in an offense and has played for one of the most dominant teams in college football history. What will happen when White is put on a team that is not expected to win, and where he is not surrounded by all-star players playing inferior competition? While one would like to think he will succeed, it is still unknown how he will fare in an offense where he is the focal point.

Summary

After being slated as a sure-fire first round pick, conditioning questions and injury problems knocked White from a projected high-to-middle first round pick to a middle second round pick.  The Tennessee Titans ended up drafting White with the 45th pick in the draft.  White will be re-united with his former offensive coordinator at Southern California, Norm Chow, currently the Titans offensive coordinator.

White will join current Titans running backs Chris Brown and Travis Henry.  White is heavier then both Brown and Henry, which could increase his value in redzone or short-yardage situations.  We don't have to point out again the 52 touchdowns in three years that White scored during his college career.

This could be the perfect situation for White to be in.  Brown has been plagued by injury problems throughout his career and has never completed a full season.  Henry is trying to salvage a career which has seen him start just six games in the past two seasons.  White will be in a situation where his offensive coordinator knows what he is capable of and has faith in him.  Also, slipping into the second round might provide White with that extra spark that some teams felt he was lacking; he could now play with a chip on his shoulder, which is good news for the Titans and bad news for the rest of the league.

For fantasy leagues, White should hold decent value to begin the 2006 season.  He will most likely start out the season behind Brown, and maybe Henry, but he could figure more in the offense as the season wears on.  Expect Brown to go down at some point with an injury, which means White's value will increase that much more.

For keeper leagues, White has good value.  White figures to battle Brown for the starting job and with White's familiarity with Chow's offense, and his talent, he should be the starting running back for the Titans within a year or two. 

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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