Tigers QB ready for NFL
White caps college career with 284-yard, three-touchdown game.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Zoom call froze Wednesday night as soon as Ryan Silverfield was asked about Brady White's decision to turn pro and end his Memphis football career. About two minutes passed and when his connection was restored, the first-year Tigers coach jokingly said that he didn't want to answer the question.
Silverfield spoke of the games they won together, the resume White has built, and the quarterback's impact on the Tigers' program. He said that if he ever had a son, he'd want him to be like White.
"He's just been top-notch," Silverfield said. "And that's kind of the key to this whole thing. He's meant to so much to everybody. He's done it the right way. He's a legend."
White capped his college career with a 284-yard, three-touchdown performance on 22 of 34 passing in a 25-10 win by the Tigers (8-3) over Florida Atlantic (5-4) in the Montgomery Bowl.
Next year, for the first time since 2018, Memphis will have a new starting quarterback.
White confirmed that he will forgo the extra year of eligibility granted to all fall athletes by the NCAA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That's an easy question. The NFL is the next step, that's the plan," said White, who is a PHD candidate at Memphis. "I'm going to start training, so I'm excited for that, to see what God's got in store for me. ... My time here at Memphis has been special, it's a special city, a special program."
Former Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell told The Commercial Appeal on Thursday that he is transferring to Memphis and plans to enroll in January. The 6-foot-6, 228pound Gunnell was the No. 15 prostyle quarterback in the nation for the Class of 2018 according to the 247Sports composite. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
The Tigers return Peter Parrish, Keilon Brown, and Drake Day at the quarterback spot. Parrish was ineligible this season after transferring from LSU. Brown, a true freshman, was a three-star recruit as a dualthreat quarterback. Day is a sophomore who transferred from a junior college. There's also Jeremiah Oatsvall, a graduate transfer from Austin Peay.
Connor Adair and Calvin Austin were the only Tigers other than White to throw a pass this season.
White leaves Memphis as its alltime leader in passing yards (10,690) and passing touchdowns (90). The 6-3, 210-pound White is also second on the AAC all-time list for career passing yards.
He began his college career as the highest-rated quarterback recruit in Arizona State history but an injury in the third game of the 2016 season was serious enough to sideline him through 2017.
White reunited with Mike Norvell, the assistant coach who recruited him at Arizona State and was hired by to lead the Memphis program in 2016.
As a graduate transfer and a degree already earned from Arizona State, White was eligible to play right away for the Tigers in 2018 and took over as the starter. He was granted an additional year of eligibility before the start of the 2019 season and helped the Tigers to their most successful season and a berth in the Cotton Bowl.
White closed out his college career Wednesday night by ending Memphis' five-year bowl game losing streak.
"The football speaks for itself. But I hope that I walk out here having positively impacted more people that I can think of and hopefully made a positive influence in their life or given them hope or excitement or joy," White said. "Hopefully helped establish what the culture is on this team and how that will be carried out over many years to come. I'll bleed blue for the rest of my life. I'm a Memphis Tiger forever."