Lifelong dream realized as White signs with West Georgia
Kyle White has been immersed in the game of football virtually his entire life.
He came up through the ranks of the youth leagues and middle school before becoming a standout at Ringgold High School, and the next step in his football journey came this past Wednesday when he signed his letter of intent to join the University of West Georgia.
“It feels good,” said the senior safety. “I’ve been wanting to play college football since I was four years old, ever since I first put on the pads, but it still doesn’t seem real.
“Since they offered me and I committed, it’s all felt like a dream. I’ve been working so hard for this for the last 14 years and it just shows that hard work pays off.”
White ended his Ringgold career with over 400 total hits to rank second on the Tigers’ all-time tackles list. He had 169 of them as a senior (107 solo) to go with five pass break-ups, one interception, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He was named the Region
6-AAA Defensive Player of the Year and the Catoosa County Defensive Player of the Year as helped the Tigers go 10-2 and advance to the second round of the state playoffs.
The website RecruitGeorgia.com named White as a first-team All-State pick in Class AAA. He was also one of five finalists for their overall Player of the Year award in the classification.
“I just really like their culture and what they’ve got going on with their strength program,” he said about West Georgia, who went 9-3 in 2021 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. “The coaches really made me feel like a part of the family before I even committed. That’s what made me flip the switch and decide to go ahead and commit there.”
Ringgold head coach Robert
Akins spoke at the signing ceremony and said he was excited for White, calling him a “great leader” for the team.
“I’m so thankful for him,” Akins continued. “I know West Georgia has gotten a good one and I know that he’ll push to try to be a starter just as soon as possible because he doesn’t like sitting. He’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn’t sit. I’m just really proud of him, I love him
and I really appreciate what he brought to us and what he did for this football team.”
Another coach who spoke at the signing was Houston White, Kyle’s father and Ringgold’s defensive coordinator, who said he loved and was extremely proud of his son for the man he is, the teammate he is and college player he will become.
“This has been a dream of his since he started playing at the age of four,” the coach told the gathered crowd. “True story here, Kyle learned to read by me reading American Football Monthly magazine to him. He’s wanted to play football ever since he learned to walk and we could put a ball in his hands. His drive, competitive nature and his passion for the game is just unbelievable.
“I told the coaches, it’s going to be a struggle for a little bit when I walk out on the field (next season). I’ve seen Kyle on the field for six straight years and he’s been kind of like a blanket for me out there, but I’m excited for him to get to this next chapter and I know he is too.”
For White, who plans to major in sports management, he knows he’ll have to prove himself all over again once he steps onto the field in Carrollton.
“Like when I walked in here (at Ringgold) as a freshman, I had to work for it and, eventually, I was able to go in and do stuff like I’ve done. But I’m just going to go in there and work as hard as I can, do what I know how to do and whatever happens, happens.”