Dan White (quarterback)
No. 16 | |||||||||||
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | September 14, 1972 | ||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Point Loma (San Diego, California) | ||||||||||
College: | Arizona | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 1996 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||
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Dan White (born September 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the University of Arizona football team from 1993–1995, a span which included the Wildcats' only Pac-10 championship to date, as well as a record-setting Fiesta Bowl victory.
High school
[edit]White began his football career at Point Loma High School in San Diego, CA, where he was the starting quarterback for a powerhouse team that included gifted wide-receiver Brett Callan, as well as future NFL stars J. J. Stokes and La'Roi Glover. The team was coached throughout White's four years by local legend Bennie Edens.
College career
[edit]After high school, White attended Penn State, hoping to play for hall-of-fame coach Joe Paterno, but he never saw significant playing time. After one season, he transferred to the University of Arizona, where he spent a redshirt year before winning the starting quarterback role in 1993.[1]
That season, with White at the helm, the Wildcats rolled to a 10-2 record and broke a 15-year drought to tie for their first (and, to date, only) share of the Pac-10 championship.[1] The Wildcats wrapped up the season in the Fiesta Bowl, where White threw for 2 touchdowns en route to a 29-0 defeat of 10th-ranked Miami, the first shutout in Fiesta Bowl history.[2]
White would continue as starting quarterback until 1995, finishing with 40 touchdown passes for his career and, perhaps more importantly, an unbeaten 3-0 record against the Wildcats' arch-rival ASU Sun Devils, throwing 7 touchdowns and only one interception in those three games. A 2008 editorial in the Arizona Daily Star ranked him as one of the Wildcats' 10 best quarterbacks of all time.[3]
Pro career
[edit]After college, White was not taken in the NFL draft, but signed with the Houston Oilers as a free agent immediately following the draft.[4][5] He was subsequently traded to the Atlanta Falcons before finishing his pro career in the Arena Football League, where he played for the Tampa Bay Storm during the 1997 season.[6][7]
Quotes
[edit]White's inconsistent play inspired this memorable quote by ABC announcer Mark Jones: "Against USC, he looked like Dan Marino. Against Washington State, he looked like Dan Quayle."[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Maisel, Ivan (June 20, 1994). "White and the Wildcats are ready for Pasadena". The Sporting News. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ "23rd Annual Fiesta Bowl". Fiesta Bowl Official Website. January 1, 1994. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ Finley, Ryan (August 24, 2008). "Will he be the one?". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ^ Edens, Bennie (1996). "Sports Wrap-Up" (PDF). PLHS Alumuni Newsletter. Retrieved November 20, 2008.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ Arlie Rahn (April 24, 1996). "White joins Oilers as free agent". Arizona Daily Wildcat. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ Brad Allis (May 4, 2011). "Arizona Idol: Quarterbacks". Tucson Citizen. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ "Dan White". ArenaFan.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ Glick, Shav (1993). "It Can't be as Easy as She Makes it Seem". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 27, 2010.