PSU FOOTBALL: Former Lake Oswego QB Duncan White preps for Vikings
Ex-Laker led Sac State to late TD in last week's loss to Weber State
By Steve Brandon
The Portland Tribune, Sep 25, 2008
BOB SOLORIO / SACRAMENTO STATE UNIVERSITY
Duncan White, a sophomore from Lake Oswego High, has emerged as a probable first-time starter this week for Sacramento State, which plays host to Portland State on Saturday.
A week ago, it looked like this would be a redshirt year for Sacramento State quarterback Duncan White.
Now, the sophomore from Lake Oswego High is tentatively scheduled to start Saturday against Portland State.
White came on in relief last week against Weber State and finished the 32-27 Hornets’ loss to the Wildcats.
Regular Sac State starting QB Jason Smith (sprained ankle) is “day-to-day” going into the 2 p.m. Saturday home game with PSU, according to Hornets coach Marshall Sperbeck.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who had been No. 2 on the depth chart and was one spot above White, is expected to miss the next four to six weeks after spraining two ligaments in the Weber State game.
But White “did a nice job last week,” Sperbeck says. “Hopefully, he can continue to build off that success. … Duncan’s a smart kid. He puts us in good situations and is able to make good decisions, generally. Those are his strengths.”
• Smith has returned to practice, but his ankle isn’t 100 percent. He and White, who is thinking of someday applying for law school at Lewis & Clark College, have split the reps in practice. White says “it wasn’t looking too good” for Smith to play Saturday, “but it’s possible.”
• The third-stringer now is John Loeliger, a junior transfer from Diablo Valley College (Pleasanton, Calif.) who had been moved from quarterback to safety.
• The possibility of playing against Portland State is exciting, White says.
“Coming to Sacramento State, one of the things I was looking forward to was being able to play against them,” he says.
• White played prep football with one of the Vikings, redshirt freshman offensive tackle Jasper Croome.
“He sent me a funny text about the game,” White says. “He’s a nice guy, but when he tries to text, it’s pretty funny.”
• White went to school with a relatively famous former Laker named Kevin Love, now with the Minnesota Timberwolves after an All-American season at UCLA. The Sacramento State media guide says White and Love were basketball teammates.
“I don’t know where they got that. I wasn’t really his teammate,” White says. “I never played varsity and didn’t play basketball my senior year.”
• White says he’s rooting for Corvallis grad Drew Hubel, another sophomore from the prep class of 2007, to play quarterback for the Vikings on Saturday. Hubel and Tygue Howland split time last week in a loss at Washington State.
“Drew and I aren’t good friends, but I know him,” White says. “I’d like to see him play.”
• The 6-4 White, mostly a pocket passer, says he weighs 200 pounds, having dropped 12 pounds since summer. He was a bit heavier last season and would like to play at 215.
“Being on your own and having to feed yourself, I haven’t been able to add weight,” he says. “I’m probably at about my natural body weight.”
• White’s college career has been a bit of a roller coaster already, at least on paper.
Going into last season, he and Smith were neck-and-neck for the starting job until the opening game. Smith got the nod, and White wound up making only three appearances and attempting just 12 passes, completing four for 12 yards, with two interceptions.
“I wasn’t really up to it,” White says of last season. “I tried, but I didn’t have the comfort level with the offense.”
This year, White was back in the QB derby and looking good, but Smith came on strong in August camp to win the job again in a three-way battle with White and Bethel-Thompson.
White’s bid was hampered when he missed a week with a concussion suffered in practice.
At that point, he says he talked with coach Marshall Sperbeck about the prospects for 2008.
Smith, White and Bethel-Thompson all are sophomores, and Sperbeck told White that he didn’t want all three to graduate at the same time – so one of them probably would redshirt. Until Saturday, White seemed the most likely to sit out the year.
And White says he was willing to accept that.
“I felt I could have fought back and got the starting job – everybody thinks that – but I was OK with redshirting,” he says.
• Smith started the first two games before hurting his ankle at Colorado State.
On came Bethel-Thompson, who played versus Southern Oregon and Weber State before going down early in the fourth quarter of the latter game.
• Another Sac State QB candidate, Fresno State transfer Nick Anderson, broke his leg in practice before the Weber State game. He is out for the year.
• White went 9 of 15 last week, throwing for 114 yards against a Weber State defense that was sitting back but not in full prevent mode. He mostly threw underneath routes and didn’t face many blitzes – and he knows that coach Jerry Glanville’s Portland State defense likes to bring a variety of pass-rush schemes at the opposing QB from the opening whistle.
• White says he didn’t feel under the gun to shine last week.
“There was really no pressure. Nobody really expects anything from a third-string quarterback,” he says. “And my teammates had a lot of confidence in me. So I was really comfortable in the huddle, really relaxed. Hopefully, I can recreate that when I play the next time.”
• The Hornets were trailing 32-20 when White entered the game. His first series was three-and-out (false start, run, incompletion, incompletion). But then came a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, which pulled the Hornets to within five points of the Wildcats.
The TD came on a fourth-and-10 pass from White to sophomore wideout Dylan Lane, one of White’s roommates.
White doesn’t boast about his first major college stint.
“It’s not that big when you lead a fourth-quarter comeback in a loss. It’s not like I shocked the world,” he says.
“I played well, but there were 100 things I could have done better,” he adds. “Our offensive line played well. I only got sacked once, and it was basically my fault.”
One of the things White says he could have done better last week was a pass over the middle and intended for 5-9 receiver Kyle Hill. The throw was a bit off the mark, but Hill made a big effort to get it – and took a lick.
“He really laid out for the ball,” White says, “and he took one of the biggest hits I’ve ever seen. It was pretty brutal.”
Hill had the wind knocked out of him but otherwise was OK.
“I feel really bad about that one,” White says.
White says he enjoyed being at the controls of a long drive.
“I realized how much I’d missed that,” he says.
• With White having suffered a concussion and Anderson a broken leg in practice, it sounds like the Hornets must have some tough workouts.
“We normally don’t wear red jerseys,” White says of the quarterbacks. “But we brought them out this week.”
Ex-Laker led Sac State to late TD in last week's loss to Weber State
By Steve Brandon
The Portland Tribune, Sep 25, 2008
BOB SOLORIO / SACRAMENTO STATE UNIVERSITY
Duncan White, a sophomore from Lake Oswego High, has emerged as a probable first-time starter this week for Sacramento State, which plays host to Portland State on Saturday.
A week ago, it looked like this would be a redshirt year for Sacramento State quarterback Duncan White.
Now, the sophomore from Lake Oswego High is tentatively scheduled to start Saturday against Portland State.
White came on in relief last week against Weber State and finished the 32-27 Hornets’ loss to the Wildcats.
Regular Sac State starting QB Jason Smith (sprained ankle) is “day-to-day” going into the 2 p.m. Saturday home game with PSU, according to Hornets coach Marshall Sperbeck.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who had been No. 2 on the depth chart and was one spot above White, is expected to miss the next four to six weeks after spraining two ligaments in the Weber State game.
But White “did a nice job last week,” Sperbeck says. “Hopefully, he can continue to build off that success. … Duncan’s a smart kid. He puts us in good situations and is able to make good decisions, generally. Those are his strengths.”
• Smith has returned to practice, but his ankle isn’t 100 percent. He and White, who is thinking of someday applying for law school at Lewis & Clark College, have split the reps in practice. White says “it wasn’t looking too good” for Smith to play Saturday, “but it’s possible.”
• The third-stringer now is John Loeliger, a junior transfer from Diablo Valley College (Pleasanton, Calif.) who had been moved from quarterback to safety.
• The possibility of playing against Portland State is exciting, White says.
“Coming to Sacramento State, one of the things I was looking forward to was being able to play against them,” he says.
• White played prep football with one of the Vikings, redshirt freshman offensive tackle Jasper Croome.
“He sent me a funny text about the game,” White says. “He’s a nice guy, but when he tries to text, it’s pretty funny.”
• White went to school with a relatively famous former Laker named Kevin Love, now with the Minnesota Timberwolves after an All-American season at UCLA. The Sacramento State media guide says White and Love were basketball teammates.
“I don’t know where they got that. I wasn’t really his teammate,” White says. “I never played varsity and didn’t play basketball my senior year.”
• White says he’s rooting for Corvallis grad Drew Hubel, another sophomore from the prep class of 2007, to play quarterback for the Vikings on Saturday. Hubel and Tygue Howland split time last week in a loss at Washington State.
“Drew and I aren’t good friends, but I know him,” White says. “I’d like to see him play.”
• The 6-4 White, mostly a pocket passer, says he weighs 200 pounds, having dropped 12 pounds since summer. He was a bit heavier last season and would like to play at 215.
“Being on your own and having to feed yourself, I haven’t been able to add weight,” he says. “I’m probably at about my natural body weight.”
• White’s college career has been a bit of a roller coaster already, at least on paper.
Going into last season, he and Smith were neck-and-neck for the starting job until the opening game. Smith got the nod, and White wound up making only three appearances and attempting just 12 passes, completing four for 12 yards, with two interceptions.
“I wasn’t really up to it,” White says of last season. “I tried, but I didn’t have the comfort level with the offense.”
This year, White was back in the QB derby and looking good, but Smith came on strong in August camp to win the job again in a three-way battle with White and Bethel-Thompson.
White’s bid was hampered when he missed a week with a concussion suffered in practice.
At that point, he says he talked with coach Marshall Sperbeck about the prospects for 2008.
Smith, White and Bethel-Thompson all are sophomores, and Sperbeck told White that he didn’t want all three to graduate at the same time – so one of them probably would redshirt. Until Saturday, White seemed the most likely to sit out the year.
And White says he was willing to accept that.
“I felt I could have fought back and got the starting job – everybody thinks that – but I was OK with redshirting,” he says.
• Smith started the first two games before hurting his ankle at Colorado State.
On came Bethel-Thompson, who played versus Southern Oregon and Weber State before going down early in the fourth quarter of the latter game.
• Another Sac State QB candidate, Fresno State transfer Nick Anderson, broke his leg in practice before the Weber State game. He is out for the year.
• White went 9 of 15 last week, throwing for 114 yards against a Weber State defense that was sitting back but not in full prevent mode. He mostly threw underneath routes and didn’t face many blitzes – and he knows that coach Jerry Glanville’s Portland State defense likes to bring a variety of pass-rush schemes at the opposing QB from the opening whistle.
• White says he didn’t feel under the gun to shine last week.
“There was really no pressure. Nobody really expects anything from a third-string quarterback,” he says. “And my teammates had a lot of confidence in me. So I was really comfortable in the huddle, really relaxed. Hopefully, I can recreate that when I play the next time.”
• The Hornets were trailing 32-20 when White entered the game. His first series was three-and-out (false start, run, incompletion, incompletion). But then came a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, which pulled the Hornets to within five points of the Wildcats.
The TD came on a fourth-and-10 pass from White to sophomore wideout Dylan Lane, one of White’s roommates.
White doesn’t boast about his first major college stint.
“It’s not that big when you lead a fourth-quarter comeback in a loss. It’s not like I shocked the world,” he says.
“I played well, but there were 100 things I could have done better,” he adds. “Our offensive line played well. I only got sacked once, and it was basically my fault.”
One of the things White says he could have done better last week was a pass over the middle and intended for 5-9 receiver Kyle Hill. The throw was a bit off the mark, but Hill made a big effort to get it – and took a lick.
“He really laid out for the ball,” White says, “and he took one of the biggest hits I’ve ever seen. It was pretty brutal.”
Hill had the wind knocked out of him but otherwise was OK.
“I feel really bad about that one,” White says.
White says he enjoyed being at the controls of a long drive.
“I realized how much I’d missed that,” he says.
• With White having suffered a concussion and Anderson a broken leg in practice, it sounds like the Hornets must have some tough workouts.
“We normally don’t wear red jerseys,” White says of the quarterbacks. “But we brought them out this week.”
