Welcome to the football dissertation of Brady White
Perhaps hearing another 24-yearold say it, if there were such a thing as another 24-year-old about to start his sixth season of college football while pursuing a doctorate degree in liberal studies, the whole scene would have felt ironic.
Memphis Tigers quarterback Brady White stood in front of the Zoom camera Wednesday, a few days away from the 2020 opener, doling out wisdom gleaned from a college career that spans two American presidents and three Memphis head coaches, unable to initially remember whether he got here two or three years ago.
“The older you get, especially when you get to football season,” he said, “time just goes by fast.”
Welcome to the football dissertation of Brady White, and the thesis revolves around this: What does a quarterback do for an encore after he turned his doubters into believers last season, after he helped lead a program to its greatest heights, after he almost didn't come back because he really didn't need to come back?
Perspective seemed to arrive this week when star tailback Kenneth Gainwell announced his decision to opt out of the 2020 season. If there was any
question as to who the face of Tiger football will be this year, there isn’t anymore.
This is finally White’s team, a notion that’s as big as any of his numeric accomplishments given the scrutiny and skepticism he dealt with at times during his first two years at Memphis. From the fan base and from his own locker room.
But that narrative, of the weakarmed quarterback who was nothing more than a game manager, who was simply a product of Mike Norvell’s system and Norvell’s unflinching faith, evaporated during last season’s historic run.
There was that second half against Navy, when he transformed Liberty Bowl boos into a transcendent comeback win. There was a five-touchdown game against Tulane and six touchdowns against Houston.
There was the game-winning touchdown drive he orchestrated to lead Memphis past Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference championship. And then there was a career-high 454 yards in the Cotton Bowl, when he kept getting sacked by Penn State but kept the Tigers within striking distance.
There were so many dynamic throws that he finished ranked fifth in the country in yards per attempt and had too many savvy audibles for the staff to count.
“He knows exactly where he wants everybody to be on every play,” offensive coordinator Kevin Johns remarked last month.
So before you knew it, White had put together the second-best statistical season in Memphis football history, trailing only Riley Ferguson’s 2017 season. Before you knew it, the fan base no longer felt lukewarm about him. They felt love, just as they have for every one of this program’s all-time greats.
Make no mistake, that’s what White will be after this season.
If he throws for 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns, he’ll have more passing yards and more touchdown passes than any Memphis player before him. He’s just 0.3 percent behind Jacob Karam for the highest career completion percentage in program history. He’s the only returning quarterback in the country who threw for more than 4,000 yards last year.
So White discusses this pandemic-altered season with a sense of finality, as if it will be his last year before heading to the next phase of his life — be it the NFL or some other job in sports. But in an odd twist, COVID-19 could also provide him with an opportunity to extend his stay in Memphis.
The NCAA declared last month that all fall athletes would receive an additional year of eligibility and an additional year to complete it due to the uncertainty surrounding this season. That opens the door for White to potentially become a 25-year-old quarterback in his seventh year of college.
In a weird way, it encapsulates the type of quarterback he’s become. He’s not quite physically gifted enough to be considered anything more than a long shot to stick in the NFL. But he’s so smart and so efficient and so good that any school, and certainly Memphis, would be foolish not to welcome him back.
There’s no shame in that, either. “I love this team. I love this program. I’m very happy to be here,” White said. “I think I’m here for a reason.”
He’s here to lead these Tigers.
He’s here because, with a new head coach and a new play-caller and a new running back, the Tigers need him more than ever before.
He’s here because college football careers, even ones that last six years and could end with a doctorate, go by fast.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto