LBs coach connects with players through undergraduate experience
Scott White (middle) has brought a unique perspective to the UCLA linebackers coach position this year. Unlike his predecessors, White played college football within the last 10 years, allowing him to connect with the players. (Max Himmelrich/Daily Bruin staff)
By Matt Joye
Sept. 3, 2015 12:25 a.m.
The Bruins had a falling out with their linebackers coaches last season.
They had an inside linebackers coach who made headlines for an in-game confrontation with coach Jim Mora on the sidelines. He ended up lying to a recruit and leaving UCLA to become the linebackers coach with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bruins also had a first-time outside linebackers coach who’d only ever coached defensive linemen. That didn’t turn out well; he was fired in February.
In the wake of those departures came a new linebackers coach whom the Bruins have been able to rely on: Scott White.
“Scott White, he cares a lot about us, and that’s big – from first-string (players) to freshmen,” said redshirt senior outside linebacker Aaron Wallace. “He has us excited to be out there.”
White doesn’t have a long track record or a dense coaching resume – he’s only ever been a graduate assistant at the Division I level – but that youthfulness can work to his advantage.
“(Since) he’s younger, he kind of connects with us a little bit more,” Wallace said.
There have been moments when White has been able to connect with his linebackers in ways that other UCLA coaches haven’t.
In fall training camp this year, several coaches and players tried to calm down junior linebacker Myles Jack after an on-field scuffle. White was the only coach able to placate Jack and lead him off the field.
“He’s a 19-year-old kid who got in the heat of the moment,” White said. “I just told him, ‘Hey man, everybody has bad days.’ That was probably the main message – and don’t self-destruct.”
White can relate to Jack’s experience. As a redshirt senior linebacker at the University of Washington in 2006, he too had a moment where he let his emotions get the better of him. After an early August training camp practice, White “sounded off to the Seattle Times” about possibly being relegated to a backup role. Soon after, he left the team for a day to contemplate his future in football.
“I just think it allowed me to come back to center, let the emotions come back down and you start to see things more clear,” White said. “You just understand what this game means to you as a person and how fortunate you are.”
White relayed his experiences to Jack. He let the junior linebacker know that his position on the UCLA football team wasn’t something to take for granted.
“My experience with that (2006 situation) helped me help (Jack) through that,” White said. “I’m an emotional guy, he’s a very emotional guy, so we connect that way.”
Jack listened to White’s message and took it well. He bounced back from his outburst just like White did back at Washington, playing with a restored focus for the rest of training camp. When Jack was asked about his outburst last week, he took full responsibility for his actions, looking more mature in his demeanor.
“Pretty much what had happened was 100 percent my fault,” Jack said. “I took full responsibility and it won’t happen again.”
It’s only fitting that Jack’s strong comeback occurs right as he’s making the transition from strong side outside linebacker to inside. That’s the same position change White underwent in 2006, and it led to a fruitful senior season.
“The position change has really been key in putting me in a situation where I could show my ability,” White told the Seattle Times during his turnaround season. “In years past when I played the strong side, you can be kind of isolated … Now I’m right in the thick of things and I’m freed up a lot more and that’s more my game.”
Sound familiar?
“There were times when (Jack) was playing outside linebacker where he could get isolated a little bit,” White said during spring camp this year. “Now, we’ve got him right there in the middle of things and he’s just doing his thing.”
The only question now is if Jack can repeat White’s performance from the 2006 season. White finished that year No. 3 in the conference in interceptions and No. 7 in tackles. He also took home Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors at one point.
One thing that’s for sure is that White will be by Jack’s side the whole time.
“I always tell ’em, ‘Just relax and play,'” White said. “‘Just relax and play, trust your process, trust your training.'”
He speaks from experience.
