Conversation with Kennesaw State Quarterback Trey White
Kennesaw State. It used to be the school that you might have written off when applying to colleges in this great state because you wanted a football team on Saturdays. If you haven’t been paying attention, then you have missed an impressive inaugural season for any team in Division I-AA and the Big South Conference. The Owls surprised the Big South Conference last fall with a 6-5 record, which was good enough for 5th place in the conference. The Owls great start has a lot to do with the leadership inside the building. Former Dawg’s football Coach and Athletic Director Vince Dooley was hired as Chairman of the Football Exploratory Committee to guide the athletic department, and was involved with hiring the right coach that would find the right players. When Coach Bohannon was hired in April of 2013, he had to go out and find his quarterback. As a disciple of Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson option offense and coaching with Johnson for 17 years, he needed a quarterback with experience in the option offense. The quarterback he found is an old friend of mine from the Atlanta area, a Citadel transfer and former St. Pius X quarterback Trey White.
White has been quarterbacking the option offense since the seventh grade, and has excelled with the pressures of setting the standard for future Kennesaw State quarterbacks as well as coming very close to setting a Big South record with both 1,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. The Owls offense led the conference in rushing yards, ranked fifth in passing yards, and third in scoring. The Owls are the new kids on the college football block in the state of Georgia, and they are flourishing with home grown players. With talent abundant in the facility, ambition oozing from the stadium walls and leadership in the huddle, the Kennesaw State Owls are not to be written off in the coming years.
White is heading into his final season of eligibility for the Kennesaw State Owls this year. Last year he led the Owls in carries (218), rushing yards (964), rushing touchdowns (9), passing yards (1,059) and passing touchdowns (8). This year the Owls are working to go a step further in their building process with a group of college veterans like White, a young core of role players and the new incoming class of talented freshman. I got a chance to sit down with White to talk about the program, the quarterback position, and even Coach Dooley.
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Henry Sewell: What was the hardest part about setting the standard and establishing the tradition as Kennesaw State’s first quarterback?
Trey White: When we got there [for the first practices], everyone was on the same level. There was no depth chart, just a bunch of freshman and some sophomore and junior transfers. Everyone had the same rank so I couldn’t use my age or experience from another college, because nobody else saw what I had done in the past. I had to lead with my play on the field and establish myself in the huddle, because at the end of the day the players are going to decide who they want to follow. I knew I was a leader, but I had to go out and prove it again, and it helped set the standard for the rest of the offense.
HS: Did you get tired of hitting the same people every day? (Kennesaw State practiced and scrimmaged against themselves for an entire year before their first game.)
TW: Absolutely. But I will say Coach Bohannon did a great job making things interesting and keeping things under control and fun, because there’s only so many times you can play against the same defense. We had 80 practices together before our first game and that brought us together.
HS: How good did it feel to hit other helmets that first game?
TW: We got to ETSU the day before the game, and we walked through the empty stadium to get a feel, and man, I’ll tell you what…it was majestic. You realize this is what you missed for a year. Then gameday comes along and we go through the warm-ups but when the captains met at midfield, majestic went out the door. It was rowdy and we were ready to hit somebody. I’ve taken tens of thousands of snaps in practices and games throughout my career and I’m a pretty calm/cool/collected guy in the huddle, but I’d be lying to you if I said my hands weren’t shaking that first college football snap. It’s what I’ve been working for my entire career.
HS: Coach Vince Dooley played a large role in helping establish the program, what is a lasting memory of Coach Dooley that you have from his presence around the program?
TW: One day during preseason camp our paths crossed and I asked him how he was doing and he replied, “Maaaaan, it is hot!” I grinned and replied, “Yessir, it sure is.” He finally turned back to me and said, “It’s about as hot as it was in ’79 before we won a championship.” And for me, that put everything in perspective, the whole sport. If those guys back then can get it done in the heat, what’s stopping me from getting it done today in the heat?
HS: What’s your favorite play in the playbook?
TW: My bread and butter is obviously the option. It’s my favorite play and I like having the ball in my hands. It’s a play I can run sleepwalking while blindfolded, and I know I can get it done.
HS: Would you rather run for a touchdown or pass for a touchdown?
TW: I’ll take either, but if given the choice I’d have to say pass. Peyton Manning blew up on a reporter once when asked about getting a lucky break in the game and said, “I worked too hard and too long for what I do out there to rely on luck.” And that’s how I feel about throwing a football. I’m certainly better at running the football and it comes more natural, but passing is something everyone has knocked on my game and I’ve given tireless effort to work the craft. So while both are great, there’s the added bonus of proving people wrong when I throw a ball over them for six.
HS: Who is your favorite quarterback?
TW: Favorite QB to watch is Brett Favre, the ultimate gunslinger and he makes the game look fun with his enthusiasm and 98 mph fastballs. My favorite quarterback to admire is Peyton Manning because of the work he puts in. And my favorite quarterback to see compete is Tom Brady cause I’d like to think both he and I were underdogs, we have to earn every yard, and we both have to prove we belong.