Former Hilltoppers QB Mike White to get first NFL start with Jets
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (BVM) — Mike White will finally get his NFL opportunity. After two years at Western Kentucky University and four NFL seasons, White will get his first start under center when he leads the New York Jets against the Cincinnati Bengals in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday.
QB Mike White will get the start Sunday against the Bengals. pic.twitter.com/p3n52SOvoM
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 27, 2021
Prior to his time in the NFL, White enjoyed two successful seasons with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Coming to the team as a transfer in 2015 from the University of South Florida where he was a two-year starter (15 games) for the Bulls completing 215-of-417 (51.5%) pass attempts for 2,722 yards with 11 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
After sitting out the 2015 season due to transfer rules, White started the 2016 season and lit up the scoreboard leading a highly-efficient Hilltoppers offense, completing 280-of-416 passes for 4,363 yards with 37 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. That season, White became one of just two quarterbacks in school history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in a season while his 181.39 passer rating set a single-season school record.
The next year, White nearly matched all of his junior year totals as he went 368-for-560 (65.7%) for 4,177 yards with 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. White would also add six rushing touchdowns on the year, leading the team. White finished second in program history in career touchdown passes with 63, third in career passing yards with 8,540 and career completion percentage with 66.4% and fourth with 648 career completions.
Over his two seasons with the team, White would earn numerous recognitions including two-time Conference USA second team honors, 2016 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year, 2017 Conference USA Preseason Team and 2017 Conference USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year along with a bevy of watch list placements during his senior season.
With his strong performance, White became the first Hilltoppers quarterback to ever receive an invite to the Senior Bowl and only the second in program history to go to the NFL Scouting Combine. He became the highest drafted QB out of WKU when he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. After one season in Dallas, White was waived and signed with the Jets in the 2019 offseason where he has been since.
https://twitter.com/MikeWhiteQB/status/990328463553978368
Following a PCL injury to current Jets starting quarterback Zach Wilson in the team’s 54-13 loss to the New England Patriots on Oct. 24, White saw his first NFL action. While things didn’t go perfectly, with White going 20-of-32 for 202 yards and two interceptions, he did throw his first NFL touchdown with a three-yard pass to Corey Davis with 10:45 left in the second quarter.
Mike White's first #NFL completion is a touchdown to Corey Davis. #Jets pic.twitter.com/JuOkv9lABp
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) October 24, 2021
Now the Jets will turn their offense over to White for at least the week. While the team has made moves including trading for former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco from the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday and elevating journeyman Josh Johnson from the practice squad, the team will let White take the reins and allow him to prove himself as a viable option going forward until Wilson’s recovery.
Regardless of how long the starting gig is for, White will have a number of supporters in the small pocket of Bowling Green, Kentucky. One such fan is current Hilltoppers head coach Tyson Helton, who briefly coached White in 2015.
“I recruited Mike, I was here with Mike the first year he was here, he’s an exceptional quarterback,” Helton said during his press conference Monday. “It’s good to see any Hilltopper that’s in the National Football League making plays, that always represents our brand really well.”
