Steve White has become synonymous with Western Carolina over the last 60 years.
White was the sports information director for 30 years, and also served as the executive director of what is now the Catamount Club and worked with the Catamount Sports Network. The 82-year-old retired in 2000, but has remained active and is a regular at WCU football events.
White arrived as a walk-on baseball player, and other than his tour in Vietnam, has never left the area. He began his SID job in 1970.
Western Carolina plays at NC State at 7 p.m. Thursday at Carter-Finley Stadium on the ACC Network.
Would former defensive end Clyde Simmons, who had 121.5 sacks in 236 NFL games (1986-00) be considered the best player from Western Carolina?
“He has played more years than any other Western NFL player. I enjoyed watching him thoroughly over the years back in the 80s. Still very close [to the program], even though he's an assistant coach over at Tennessee State now.
“Clyde has been very good to Western Carolina over the years.”
Who are some of the players on this year’s team that NC State fans should know about?
“Of course our quarterback, Cole Gonzalez, is the reigning Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the projected Offensive Player of the Year for the conference again this year. Cole, a junior here, he's got a tremendous arm, a great head on his shoulders. Threw for almost 3,000 yards last year, 28 touchdowns, so he can let it fly. Very good.
“Unfortunately, he was injured in our last game of the season at the end of the first quarter, and I think that's what kept us out of the FCS playoffs. He's back healthy, and he's got a lot of backups behind him. We don't think quarterbacks are going to be a problem. He's got a [bunch] of wide receivers, too.”
Will new offensive coordinator Rylan Wells keep the status quo after the previous one left for Pittsburgh?
“He was on the staff as the quarterback's coach and actually played for coach Kerwin Bell. He was Coach Bell's first quarterback at Jacksonville University, and of course knows the system up one side and the other.
“He was with him at Valdosta State as an assistant, and of course came with him from Valdosta here to Western Carolina. They're mentally attached, to say the least.
“I think Rylan knows exactly what Coach Bell wants, and he doesn't even have to transmit it to Rylan. They're on the same wavelength. I don't think we'll miss a lick there as far as the offensive coordinator and our offensive system is concerned.”
What kind of style of offense is it?
“I wouldn't call it the run and shoot, but it's just a classic RPO. We love to throw the football, and of course when we had Desmond Reid (who has transferred to Pittsburgh), we had no problems running the ball either. We sort of look at our passing game to open up our running game.
“A lot of people look vice versa, their running game to open up their passing game. But for Western Carolina, there's no doubt when we come on the field, if you're on defense, you've got to think pass first. It's usually three wide receivers, sometimes four.
“Even the tight end is in the mix there. We've got a couple of busloads of wide receivers here, most of them from South Florida. They're small, but extremely quick, and all seem to have great hands.”
What is the style of the defense?
“Our secondary, I think, is going to be very good. Samauri Dukes, our rover, and C.J. Williams, our cornerback, they are all experienced. They've been starters for at least two seasons and really give us some help there. We've got some good-looking linebackers, too. Heyward McQueen Jr., Antoine Williams, a lot of experience. They have been around here a while.
“Our defensive line, I think, is going to be much improved over last season. I thought that was sort of our Achilles’ heel at times, but people like Caleb Fisher and Chris Morgan have really stepped up during the offseason.
“Curtis Fann Jr. returns. Micah Nelson, who missed all but one game last season, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive end, looks like he's back and going to be healthy. He came here as a quarterback four years ago, and now he's a defensive end. I think they've done a real good job.”
Western Carolina has a new defensive coordinator with Jerry Odom, but looks like he has previous connections to Coach Bell too?
“Jerry Odom is our new defensive coordinator, who played with Coach Bell at the University of Florida many, many years ago back in the 80s. I really think that they're sort of on the same wavelength, too, as far as what Coach Bell expects from the defense.
“I think he's done a real good job of rebuilding our defense. We felt like a lot of games we had to score 50 points to have a chance to win. I think maybe down in the 30s this year, so we'll just have to see how that goes. The defense, I think, has improved a notch or maybe two notches.
Western Carolina played NC State a few years ago, and have always played one or two FBS programs each year. How does that help the Catamounts athletic department?
“Yeah, this is a big thing. Of course, everyone knows the reason we really play these games. Well, I guess one of the major reasons is for financial purposes. That's usually a pretty big payday for us. We started this back in the 80s with Clemson, late 70s, early 80s. We had a little bit of success early on and never have really won one of these big games.
“In fact, probably one of our best performances was back in 1986 against NC State. We lost that one 31-18, but it was actually a closer ballgame. It was a six-point ballgame midway through the fourth quarter, and we missed a field goal to make it a three-point ballgame, and they went on to beat us 31-18.
“That loss last game of the season cost us a Division I-AA playoff bid that year. Had we won that game or even maybe been a little closer, we might have gotten in the playoffs that year.
“Back in 1990, that was one we sort of tried to forget against NC State, 67-0. Our quarterback, Derrick Harris, threw a pass down the middle of the field. First play of the ballgame, throwing out of about his five-yard line, hit a wide receiver, Earl Bates, who is from up in the Greensboro area, who was a track star for us. He was 10, 15 yards behind these defensive backs for NC State. Caught the ball, took two steps, and started fumbling it and dropped it for an incomplete pass.
“We did not pick up a first down in that ballgame and lost 67-0. So that's one we try to forget against NC State.”
What areas do you think Western Carolina needs to get better with games looming against Campbell and Elon?
“[Kicking] was one of my big worries coming into the season in replacing Richard McCollum, who missed only one field goas all of last season. I think four game-winners. Paxton Robertson was his understudy and was also our kickoff man, and from what I've seen in preseason practice, we will hopefully not miss a lick there as far as that's concerned.”
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