Mark White may stand just 5-foot-8 and weigh 155 pounds, but he has become a certified giant in Alabama high school football.
Mark White has seven catches for 49
yards on Friday.
Photo courtesy of Trinity Presbyterian
Actually, he achieved that status – unknowingly – the previous week, thanks to Montgomery Advertiser sportswriter Tim Gayle, who discovered that he had not been credited with seven catches as a freshman and two as a sophomore.
White caught seven passes for 49 yards Friday night as Class 3A
Trinity Presbyterian (Montgomery, Ala.) defeated Montgomery Catholic (Montgomery, Ala.), 24-3. He had broken the state record of 260 the previous week and now has 275.
His 275 catches place him No. 7 on the all-time national list. The record is 329 by Christopher Fulmer of Nitro, W.Va.
White is a "team" man above all.
"It felt great at the time, but I was just glad to focus on the game and season," White told MaxPreps. "It will mean a whole lot more after the season."
Asked for his secret, he replied, "I've been blessed with good hands and good teammates. We have a spread offense and run a lot of screens. We have good blockers and have had unbelievable quarterbacks over the past three years."
He added, only partially tongue in cheek, "I'm small, so I can hide behind my teammates. Opponents can't see me. I've taken some hits, but most of the time I try to make a person miss, so when they do wrap me up they don't full-out hit me."
Teammates have the greatest respect for White.
Senior linebacker
William Stabler told the Montgomery Advertiser, "He always comes to practice and he works. He's been tearing it up since the 10th grade. That boy gives defensive coordinators nightmares."
Coach Randy Ragsdale recalls White beginning his freshman year as a defensive back.
"We were practicing one day and he started catching balls," Ragsdale said. "During the JV season he was catching everything. He has a knack of making people miss. God gave him great hand-eye coordination. He is blessed with agility to make a full stop, turn his body and get back his speed on the second step."
As a sophomore, White set an all-class state record with 108 catches (1,434 yards and 20 touchdowns) and then broke his own record with 113 catches (1,260 yards and 10 touchdowns) as a junior.
Ragsdale believes White's record is especially unique because he had to adapt to a different quarterback every year and has faced every possible defense.
White carries a 3.0 GPA, but he has no Division I scholarship offers at this time.
He's definitely leaving a lasting legacy at his school.
Ragsdale said, "I sure hope people don't just see the numbers. I hope they see how he carried himself – the humility beyond the numbers."
