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Football: UL’s hype manTim Buckley, Daily Advertiser, August 4, 2012 He had his would-be freshman season taken away, banned from playing by the NCAA for failing to meet initial academic eligibility guidelines. But pro prospect Melvin White worked to regain his fifth and final college year. And he plans to make the most of it, as the anointed new leader of the 2012 Ragin’ Cajun defense now that fellow cornerback Dwight "Bill" Bentley has moved on to NFL pastures. It’s a role that’s growing on White, albeit one the hype-master didn’t initially embrace during UL’s first spring sans Bentley. "But as the summer’s gone along, and then you see him here in camp, I think he’s started to realize, ‘Hey, I’ve got to be the one that’s gonna have to grab this team by the reins and lead them and guide them,’ " Cajun head coach Mark Hudspeth said after his team’s second day of preseason practices Friday. "And he’s doing a nice job," Hudspeth added. "He’s practicing at such a high level." So now White is the main man for not only a secondary that lost both Bentley and starting safety Lionel Stokes, but also a defense that lost its leading tackler in linebacker Lance Kelley and all three of its most-frequent starters along the line. As each day passes, White grows more and more comfortable with — and accepting of — the need to lead. "Not only do I feel like that, but the coaches remind me each and every day that "» ‘This is your team. They can only go as far as you can go,’ " he said. "I take that into consideration and step up." Those closest to White see the change, even if he really hasn’t altered the way he goes about his business much at all. "He’s still the same Melvin I met (as a freshman)," fellow fifth-year senior and projected starting safety Rodney Gillis said. "He’s still the same person, still humble. He just keeps his head down and keeps working. "He hasn’t really talked to us about it, but he knows what he has to do," Gillis added. "He knows how much pressure is on the secondary, and the defense. We know won’t get no respect from nobody, so we’ve just got to keep working and earn that respect."
Gillis came to UL in 2008, the same year White arrived as a former receiver who played quarterback his senior season at Brazosport High in Freeport, Texas. Recruited by the Rickey Bustle regime, the Texan had one start at cornerback, against Florida Atlantic, as a redshirt freshman in 2009, and another, against Arkansas State, as a sophomore in 2010. But White became a full-time starter during Hudspeth’s first year as Cajun coach in 2011. And with 50 solo tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions, one 89-yard pick-six against Troy and a 68-yard blocked field returned for a touchdown against Nicholls State, he’s yet another who could follow — along with the likes of Charles Tillman, Orlando Thomas, Ike Taylor, Todd Scott, Michael Adams and others — in a long line of defensive backs who’ve made it from UL to the NFL. White, however, isn’t making an issue of that just yet. "We never talk about it," said Jemarlous Moten, another starter in the Cajun secondary and a close friend of White’s. "He just goes out there and (does) what he has to do." Yet the fact of the matter is that White has a legit shot to follow in the footsteps. "He covers well, he can always break fast, he has that fast twitch (like Bentley)," said Cajun receiver Javone Lawson, who has spent plenty of time going against both Bentley and White in practices. "All he (White) has got to do is work on a couple things and he’ll be there." Holding onto the ball when there are chances for interceptions may be one, and going all-out on as many plays possible could be another. Pro scouts will be watching closely for both in the weeks and months to come. But White still could conceivably wind up going higher in the NFL Draft than Bentley, who was selected this year in the third round— 85th overall — by the Detroit Lions. "He’s much bigger than Bill," Hudspeth said in contrasting the 6-foot-3, 191-pound White with the 5-10, 182-pound Bentley. "Bill, instinctively, was very good," Hudspeth added. "Melvin has some of those same qualities. Melvin, though, was a high school quarterback, and so to me he’s very knowledgeable of the game in addition to being very talented."
That’s just part of the reason, though, that Hudspeth and his staff have tapped White as their guy. "He’s a senior "» the players respect because of the success he’s had," Hudspeth said. "A lot of times players don’t really respect a kid that hasn’t really done anything, even though they may be a great leader. "But he’s proven it on the field," the Cajun coach added, "so I think if he would step up they would listen." X X X
They are so far, and the way White carries himself may have something to do with that. On one hand, he knows what it takes to lift spirits. On the other, he evidently understands the importance of keeping things real. "He comes out here to work every day and gets everybody up," said Moten, who is moving from starting safety to starting cornerback opposite White in a secondary that produced seven pick-sixes last season. "He’s showing his leadership skills, getting the team ready every day," Gillis added. "He’s our hype-man before practice. He brings the energy." White, who was especially close with Bentley, would have it no other way. "I feel like being the more-vocal guy, being encouraging, always the one out there getting everybody going," he said. Yet it’s not all about simply shouting and slapping helmets. "Even off the field," Moten said, "he tells us, ‘Stay humble, keep your head, just play ball.’ " Having to sit a season without playing has a way of hammering home the need for humility. Gillis, who missed two years himself with knee injuries, knows what a toll that first football-free fall of 2008 had on White. But he got it back, doing so by staying on academic track and progressing toward completion of a bachelor’s degree. Now, White plans to graduate in December as a criminal justice major. "It means a lot to him," Gillis said of White getting that fifth season. "He’s glad he got the opportunity, because not everybody gets that extra chance to get another year to play with their friends and teammates." Especially not with the role White will have this season. "It was real big," White said. "Real big that they gave me an opportunity to come back and finish up. Not only to finish up with football, but finish up with school."
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