Livonia Stevenson running back Austin White, perhaps the state's top prospect at the running back position, is planning on joining the University of Michigan roster for the 2010 season.
The 6-foot, 190-pound back rushed for 1,700 yards and 30 touchdowns as a sophomore for a Stevenson team that made it to the state finals. White gained 1,610 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns from the running back position as a junior.
Michigan graduates three running backs following the 2009 season, so White comes in at a position of need for the Wolverines. His ability to run, catch and block from the running back position is what head coach Rich Rodriguez needs in his type of offense.
Two of White’s brothers — wide receivers Myles and Mitchell White — are on the Michigan State roster.
Austin heavily considered joining his brothers at MSU.
“I woke up one morning and felt Michigan was the place for me, a place where I could feel comfortable and where it felt right,” he said. “I woke up and told my mom I'm going to be a Wolverine. Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois and LSU were also in my top five.”
In June, White won the running back MVP award at the NIKE Camp in Champaign, Ill. He thinks Michigan's spread offense is a great fit.
“I do like it,” White said. “I think it will help us with the pass game a little more. That's something I can bring to the offense. It fits me pretty well.”
Tim Gabel is White's coach at Livonia Stevenson.
“He has a combination of pretty much every desirable characteristic you look for in a running back,” Gabel said. “He's obviously quite fast and has a lot of long runs. His best strength is probably how quick he's able to change directions without really altering his stride. He has really good vision with an excellent understanding of knowing where the blocks will be and how to set them up. He's not a small kid. He'll play at 190, 195 this year. That's a good combination. He's a smart kid who understands the way plays are supposed to go and he can see cuts and make them before most people know he's going to.”
“I'm looking forward to taking more of a defensive role,” White said. “What I have to worry about is my job. I feel I'll have to take some control out there.”
Gabel is expecting more from White this year, especially from the defensive side of the ball.
“He obviously had some great teams around him,” Gabel said. “I think that helped. The last two years, he's averaged less than 15 carries a game. That's a credit to some of the other kids we've had around him. We've had other good kids too. His carry load is probably going to go up this year for a little bit, so he'll have to remain durable. We're also looking at him to play defense. He'll probably be a full-time safety.
“I'd love to see his production be the same statistically. But he'll help us more ways than he has in the past because he'll play defense and carry the ball more. He looks pretty good. In our first conditioning workout we had last week, he looked pretty good. It looks like he's been working hard. He's been running on his own as well.”
White expects to get more attention from defenses this year.
“We have so many weapons on our team. After a couple of games, people will see they can't key on me, they'll have to spread things out a little more,” White said. “That won't do anything but help our team.”
White was determined to play his senior year with his decision on a college team behind him.
“Now he can just concentrate on the next couple of months,” Gabel said. “Then he can think about the University of Michigan.”
“It will take pressure off me and help me focus on what I want to do for this football team. I don't want to let my team down,” White said.
At Michigan, “I hope it's a good fit for him,” Gabel said. “I don't know the coaches real well. I think he can thrive in the spread-type offense. He can catch the ball. He runs good routes. His ability to run laterally is the key.”
Basketball
Michigan's finest basketball players from the class of 2009 stood out in big way in the annual Michigan All-Star games conducted in early August at Brighton High School.
For the girls in the Class A-B game, Miss Basketball Jenny Ryan of Saginaw Nouvel, who is heading to the University of Michigan, had 16 points to lead the Black which still lost to the White team 71-61. Brianna Taylor of Livonia Franklin, who is going to Grand Valley State, had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the winners.
Rachel Sheffer of Watervliet, heading to the University of Michigan, led the Black All-Star team to a 78-45 victory over the White squad, scoring 19 points and adding 14 rebounds and seven blocks in the Class C-D game.
In the boys Class A-B game, Mr. Basketball Derrick Nix of Detroit Pershing, who is going to Michigan State University, scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds and four blocks to lead the Black team to a 116-106 win. Drew Valentine of Lansing Sexton, who is going to Oakland University, Mich., had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the White team while Ben Simons of Cadillac and Drake University had 19 points and seven rebounds.
For the Class C-D boys contest, the Black team won 96-78. The Black team was led by Marshawn Norris of Napoleon and Mott Community College with 18 points and Jamar Ragland of Detroit Loyola and Alcorn State with 17 points. The White team was led by Shayne Whittington of Lawrence High and Western Michigan University with 15 points.
