Friday, November 5, 1999
Josh White keeps Cal on the run
By Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinIt's been five years since Josh White was bullishly dragging and carrying would-be tacklers over the Aloha Stadium turf as an all-state running back for Farrington High.
He's not getting the ball as much these days as Cal's starting fullback, but he's grown a lot thicker, stronger, meaner and faster.
The all-state bench press of 335 pounds is now a National Football League-caliber 405 pounds.
And the defenders he's punishing are Pac-10 scholarship athletes, many of whom are just as hungry as he is for a shot at playing on Sunday.
When the 6-foot, 255-pound White exploded for a 62-yard, tackle-busting run at UCLA on Oct. 16, pro scouts began to notice why Tom Holmoe recruited him out of Snow College (Utah) in 1997.
The San Francisco Examimer, in its game report, said that White "broke or ran through four tackles" during what was the longest run of his collegiate career.
It was the only moment this season when the 22-year-old White overshadowed his smaller (5-7), younger (18-year-old) teammate from Hawaii, freshman tailback Joe Igber.
It was a brief moment, but they still talk about it in the Bay Area. It put White on the NCAA map.
Igber, an Iolani product, leads the Golden Bears in rushing and is a candidate for Pac-10 freshman of the year honors.
He and White (two apiece) have combined for four of Cal's six rushing touchdowns this season.
Igber is the leading ground gainer on the team with 539 yards on 100 carries for an average of 5.4 yards per tote.
But White, who has the same average with his 17-for-92 effort, knows his ticket to the NFL will not be his rushing but his blocking.
"Going to the next level, my number one thing will be blocking," said White. "If I can block, I can always be on the field to help with the blitz and help the ground attack. I like blocking because I can just go out there and punish people."
White didn't stir the same excitement Igber did during his senior year in the preps, nor has he gotten many press clippings during his years at Snow or Cal. His has been a quiet and steady progression in the game.
His progression is all the more impressive because White has had no vision in his left eye since he fell on a toy as a one-year-old. He said he's never felt handicapped.
"This has been Josh's best season," said Holmoe last week, acknowledging that it could pay off in NFL free agency or the lower rounds of the 2000 draft.
Holmoe also said he wouldn't be surprised to see his fullback invited to a postseason all-star game like the Hula Bowl.
But White said he is not allowing himself to dwell too much on anything beyond the Pac-10 schedule.
He wants to help Cal get into a postseason bowl, preferably the Oahu Bowl on Christmas Day at Aloha Stadium.
"That would be fun," said White, who is married to the former Ginger Lau of Honolulu and has two daughters (two-year-old Imani and one-year-old Tehani).
Tomorrow, Cal (4-4, 3-2 Pac-10) plays at Oregon State (5-3, 2-3 Pac-10). The following week, the Golden Bears host Oregon and then finish the Pac-10 schedule at Stanford.
