FanHouse's lead-up to college football's signing day makes like Charles Dickens and looks at the Ghosts of Recruiting -- past, present and future. In the Ghosts of Recruiting Present, we document prominent recruiting makes and misses that changed programsWest Virginia plucked superstar quarterback Pat White out of all places, lower Alabama. How it got him came down to its offensive system and persistence in treating him as a quarterback when other schools felt he would be a wide receiver. The other schools weren't wrong to do so, by conventional wisdom, but sometimes you get ahead by attacking the margins as West Virginia did.
Thus, a guy the big schools wouldn't dare suit up at quarterback at just over six feet tall and less than 200 pounds at the time, ends up one of the greatest players this decade in college football.
I read and re-read several Rivals.com stories following White's recruitment, and while it was clear he wasn't exactly offended by schools offering him at receiver, it was always a much greater focus than he let on publicly. He actually briefly committed to LSU, then considering him a receiver with a shot at playing quarterback. But at the end of the day, West Virginia was "persistent" in pursuit of White.
He looked past home state Alabama and Auburn, and only warmed to Mississippi State when they made it clear they would treat him as a quarterback. By then it was too late, with him selecting LSU and then West Virginia.
Its an interesting little story, and reinforces lessons about bucking conventional wisdom from time-to-time, of making choices as the big programs did, and those little twists of fate.
I'm generally positive about the maligned recruiting rankings, but its curious to note that Rivals.com left White off its top 250 player list, and had him ranked as just the 55th best athlete of his recruiting class. He surprised them, he surprised us, but couldn't fool West Virginia or his coach who called him the best player in Alabama.
That isn't to say he wouldn't have made a great -- if smallish -- back or receiver in the SEC. But he made history playing quarterback at West Virginia, the only quarterback to start and win four bowl games while finishing atop the Big East's all time yardage mark.
Be sure to check out the entire Ghosts of Recruiting series leading up to college football's national letter of intent day
Previously in Ghosts of Recruiting
Ghosts of Recruiting Past: Pac-10 Also-Rans Washington and UCLA
Ghosts of Recruiting Past: Big 12 Slumpers Colorado and Texas A&M
Ghosts of Recruiting Past: Former Masters Miami and Florida State
Ghosts of Recruiting Past: Aging, Embattled Warriors Pitt and Syracuse
Ghosts of Recruiting Past: Virginia and Michigan State Rounds Things Out
Ghosts of Recruiting Present: Steve Slaton, Maryland Terrapin?
Ghosts of Recruiting Present: Ryan Perilloux is Drama for All
Ghosts of Recruiting Present: Houston Nutt, Reality Show
Ghosts of Recruiting Present: Texas Whiffs on the Rodgers Brothers
Ghosts of Recruiting Present: Bill Callahan Really Wanted Josh FreemanGhosts of Recruiting Present: Tebow, Snead, McCoy Recruiting Love Triangle
