nychief
04-29-2005, 05:13 PM
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Heisman Trophy winner Jason White goes through his paces
By DOUG TUCKER
BC-FBN--Chiefs-White,0702
Heisman Trophy winner Jason White goes through his paces
By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- On a weekend that could be the last of his football career, Jason White's humble spirit is doing him a lot more good than his Heisman Trophy.
There he was at the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie camp Friday morning, working in an unfamiliar system, throwing to receivers he barely knew and auditioning for a head coach who had publicly expressed doubts about him.
But at least he was in an NFL setting, working out for NFL coaches.
"I can do the best I can do and if it ain't good enough to play here then I don't deserve to play here," said the quarterback who took Oklahoma to consecutive national championship games.
"I'm going to give it my best shot and see where it goes from here."
While 14 quarterbacks were taken in the NFL draft last weekend, the winner of the 2003 Heisman Trophy was ignored.
White threw for more yards last year (3,205) than the overall No. 1 pick, Alex Smith (2,952). But nobody even offered to sign him as a rookie free agent.
He was actually surprised Kansas City called to invite him to rookie camp.
"Not getting a free agent deal kind of frustrated me," White said. "I was just looking for an opportunity. The coaches here decided to give me a shot and I'm grateful."
Asked if this was "one more chapter" in a career that's included reconstructive surgery on both knees, White smiled and said, "Let's hope so."
"I played for two years without them being hurt," he said of his knees. "Everybody I talked to said, `You might not even pass our physical.' That was disheartening. I had pretty much written off the whole NFL thing."
The other quarterback at the three-day camp did get drafted -- in the seventh round from Tulsa. White and James Kilian only had met at various banquets, took turns running plays and taking instruction and straining to make a good impression.
"It's kind of ironic," said Kilian, whose Tulsa career was dwarfed by White and the Sooners.
"It's weird how things work out," Kilian said.
How well the quarterbacks did was hard to gauge. Many passes went sailing over, behind and even through the hands of the receivers. But nobody knows the system very well and mistakes were made on both ends of the passing game.
"If they throw the ball and the receiver turns in the wrong direction, that makes it tough on the quarterbacks," said head coach Dick Vermeil. "I thought (White) did fine. They'll get better by Sunday."
Terry Shea, the Chiefs' quarterback coach, was kind.
"Jason, I can see why he was special in his own right because he really has great fluidity in his footwork," he said. "But what I really liked about James was the velocity on his ball today. I didn't know if he'd have quite the snap on the ball as I remember when I worked him out."
Many scouts felt White's arm was not strong enough for the NFL. But unlike speed, arm strength can be improved on.
"I'd have to say, when Drew Brees came out of college I thought his arm strength was very similar to Jason's," Shea said.
"It's certainly done. It's how you snap the ball more; it's how you get more pronation on the ball and hip action. Jason's had to spend a lot of his offseasons rehabbing. If he had a couple of years in a row where he could strengthen the mechanics of his hips and his core, he could probably find arm strength galore in terms of improvement."
As a draftee, Kilian is likely to stay with Kansas City at least until training camp in July. All White can do is concentrate this weekend and hope for the best. If he passes muster, there'll be a rookie free agent contract and another opportunity to continue what would be a long road to the NFL.
He knows what he needs to demonstrate.
"That I can just play, that I can play at this level, I can make the throws the NFL quarterbacks throw," he said. "That's all I need to show: is that I can play at this level. If I can do that, I'll find a spot.
"If I can't, I don't deserve to find a spot."
Heisman Trophy winner Jason White goes through his paces
By DOUG TUCKER
BC-FBN--Chiefs-White,0702
Heisman Trophy winner Jason White goes through his paces
By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- On a weekend that could be the last of his football career, Jason White's humble spirit is doing him a lot more good than his Heisman Trophy.
There he was at the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie camp Friday morning, working in an unfamiliar system, throwing to receivers he barely knew and auditioning for a head coach who had publicly expressed doubts about him.
But at least he was in an NFL setting, working out for NFL coaches.
"I can do the best I can do and if it ain't good enough to play here then I don't deserve to play here," said the quarterback who took Oklahoma to consecutive national championship games.
"I'm going to give it my best shot and see where it goes from here."
While 14 quarterbacks were taken in the NFL draft last weekend, the winner of the 2003 Heisman Trophy was ignored.
White threw for more yards last year (3,205) than the overall No. 1 pick, Alex Smith (2,952). But nobody even offered to sign him as a rookie free agent.
He was actually surprised Kansas City called to invite him to rookie camp.
"Not getting a free agent deal kind of frustrated me," White said. "I was just looking for an opportunity. The coaches here decided to give me a shot and I'm grateful."
Asked if this was "one more chapter" in a career that's included reconstructive surgery on both knees, White smiled and said, "Let's hope so."
"I played for two years without them being hurt," he said of his knees. "Everybody I talked to said, `You might not even pass our physical.' That was disheartening. I had pretty much written off the whole NFL thing."
The other quarterback at the three-day camp did get drafted -- in the seventh round from Tulsa. White and James Kilian only had met at various banquets, took turns running plays and taking instruction and straining to make a good impression.
"It's kind of ironic," said Kilian, whose Tulsa career was dwarfed by White and the Sooners.
"It's weird how things work out," Kilian said.
How well the quarterbacks did was hard to gauge. Many passes went sailing over, behind and even through the hands of the receivers. But nobody knows the system very well and mistakes were made on both ends of the passing game.
"If they throw the ball and the receiver turns in the wrong direction, that makes it tough on the quarterbacks," said head coach Dick Vermeil. "I thought (White) did fine. They'll get better by Sunday."
Terry Shea, the Chiefs' quarterback coach, was kind.
"Jason, I can see why he was special in his own right because he really has great fluidity in his footwork," he said. "But what I really liked about James was the velocity on his ball today. I didn't know if he'd have quite the snap on the ball as I remember when I worked him out."
Many scouts felt White's arm was not strong enough for the NFL. But unlike speed, arm strength can be improved on.
"I'd have to say, when Drew Brees came out of college I thought his arm strength was very similar to Jason's," Shea said.
"It's certainly done. It's how you snap the ball more; it's how you get more pronation on the ball and hip action. Jason's had to spend a lot of his offseasons rehabbing. If he had a couple of years in a row where he could strengthen the mechanics of his hips and his core, he could probably find arm strength galore in terms of improvement."
As a draftee, Kilian is likely to stay with Kansas City at least until training camp in July. All White can do is concentrate this weekend and hope for the best. If he passes muster, there'll be a rookie free agent contract and another opportunity to continue what would be a long road to the NFL.
He knows what he needs to demonstrate.
"That I can just play, that I can play at this level, I can make the throws the NFL quarterbacks throw," he said. "That's all I need to show: is that I can play at this level. If I can do that, I'll find a spot.
"If I can't, I don't deserve to find a spot."