Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Unsung White Putting Up Big Numbers Too
November 13, 2017 02:38 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Ka'Raun White is to West Virginia's wide receiver corps what George Harrison once was to the Beatles - the overlooked one.
Frontmen John Lennon and Paul McCartney used to dominate those Beatles albums with all of their great songs while there was only enough room left for a couple of Harrison contributions.
But George was equally talented and he soon developed a catalog of outstanding songs that he turned into a great solo career once the Beatles broke up.
You almost get that same impression of Ka'Raun White, who began his college career playing in the shadows of his big brother Kevin, a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 2015.
Then, when Ka'Raun got an opportunity to shine last year as a junior, you could see his career picking up momentum with solid late-season performances against Texas and Oklahoma before he broke his leg in a blowout road victory at Iowa State.
This year, West Virginia's Mr. Touchdown, David Sills V, has gotten most of the attention for his acrobatic TD grabs and his rapid-fire transformation from a wunderkind quarterback prospect to college football's No. 1 touchdown man.
And when people aren't talking about Sills, they're usually mentioning WVU's other front man, Gary Jennings Jr., whose 82 catches rank third in the country this week.
Meanwhile, Ka'Raun White just goes about his business topping what he did the week prior.
He established a career-high with 138 receiving yards in a road loss to TCU, then exceeded it against Iowa State two weeks ago with 167 yards on only four catches. Last Saturday at Kansas State, Ka'Raun one-upped himself once more by making eight grabs for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
In both instances, it was his downfield playmaking ability that jump-started the offense and factored heavily in two key West Virginia victories.
Against the Cyclones, the Mountaineers were stuck in idle until White ran right past his man down the near sideline to make a 63-yard catch. White continued running right into the end zone but, unfortunately, he lost track of where he was along the sideline and stepped out of bounds at the 10.
On the very next play, Sills made another one of his nation-leading 18 touchdown catches.
Later in the first half, White got loose once again for a 55-yard touchdown reception down the middle of the field to give the Mountaineers a 17-0 lead.
Then last Saturday at Kansas State, when West Virginia's offense was going absolutely nowhere, it was White who ran right past K-State strong safety Kendall Adams to score a 75-yard touchdown to give the Mountaineers the spark they were desperately seeking.
"It was the same thing as TCU when I scored on that same play," White admitted. "I had a little post on, the corner blitzed and I just got to worry about the safety. As soon as I saw the safety, I said to myself, 'I'm going to make this play.' I just had to keep my feet and get into the end zone - stay in bounds this time."
He added another touchdown catch on the final play of the first half to provide the extra cushion West Virginia needed to hold on for a hard-fought 28-23 victory.
"I had a little 10-yard spot route on and I saw Will (Grier) starting to scramble so I just went up the hash into the end zone and he delivered the ball and I made a play on it," White said. "Watching Will's eyes and watching where he was going, I just went up the seam to try and make a play before we ran out of time."
Is there a player in the country whose 51 catches for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns are as unsung as Ka'Raun White's?
The quick answer is no.
Or, consider what he's done in just 30 career games for the Mountaineers.
He ranks 14th in school history with 114 career receptions, 17th with 1,765 career receiving yards and is tied for 13th with two other players with 15 career touchdown catches. Those two guys he's tied with are far better known to Mountaineer fans - All-American flanker Danny Buggs and Ka'Raun's big brother Kevin.
But people inside the Milan Puskar Center are well aware of what White has done this year. In fact, over the last six games he might actually be the Mountaineers' most productive receiver - even more productive than Sills and Jennings.
He has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last six games, eight in all, while collecting 34 receptions for 698 yards. That averages out to 116.3 yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game and 20.5 yards per catch.
That's not too shabby for a wing man.
"We've got to make plays when our numbers are called," White explained. "Coach (Tyron) Carrier and Coach (Dana) Holgorsen were in our ears telling us the game is on us and we just had to make it happen.
"We just had to keep pushing and fighting to make some plays to help our team out. Keep it together, focus and make plays when the ball came our way," he said.
By the way, Ka'Raun also has a decent shot of catching Kevin's two-year Mountaineer career totals of 144 catches for 1,954 yards.
Who would have thought that? More to the point, who would have even known?
Frontmen John Lennon and Paul McCartney used to dominate those Beatles albums with all of their great songs while there was only enough room left for a couple of Harrison contributions.
But George was equally talented and he soon developed a catalog of outstanding songs that he turned into a great solo career once the Beatles broke up.
You almost get that same impression of Ka'Raun White, who began his college career playing in the shadows of his big brother Kevin, a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 2015.
Then, when Ka'Raun got an opportunity to shine last year as a junior, you could see his career picking up momentum with solid late-season performances against Texas and Oklahoma before he broke his leg in a blowout road victory at Iowa State.
This year, West Virginia's Mr. Touchdown, David Sills V, has gotten most of the attention for his acrobatic TD grabs and his rapid-fire transformation from a wunderkind quarterback prospect to college football's No. 1 touchdown man.
And when people aren't talking about Sills, they're usually mentioning WVU's other front man, Gary Jennings Jr., whose 82 catches rank third in the country this week.
Meanwhile, Ka'Raun White just goes about his business topping what he did the week prior.
He established a career-high with 138 receiving yards in a road loss to TCU, then exceeded it against Iowa State two weeks ago with 167 yards on only four catches. Last Saturday at Kansas State, Ka'Raun one-upped himself once more by making eight grabs for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
In both instances, it was his downfield playmaking ability that jump-started the offense and factored heavily in two key West Virginia victories.
Against the Cyclones, the Mountaineers were stuck in idle until White ran right past his man down the near sideline to make a 63-yard catch. White continued running right into the end zone but, unfortunately, he lost track of where he was along the sideline and stepped out of bounds at the 10.
On the very next play, Sills made another one of his nation-leading 18 touchdown catches.
Later in the first half, White got loose once again for a 55-yard touchdown reception down the middle of the field to give the Mountaineers a 17-0 lead.
Then last Saturday at Kansas State, when West Virginia's offense was going absolutely nowhere, it was White who ran right past K-State strong safety Kendall Adams to score a 75-yard touchdown to give the Mountaineers the spark they were desperately seeking.
"It was the same thing as TCU when I scored on that same play," White admitted. "I had a little post on, the corner blitzed and I just got to worry about the safety. As soon as I saw the safety, I said to myself, 'I'm going to make this play.' I just had to keep my feet and get into the end zone - stay in bounds this time."
He added another touchdown catch on the final play of the first half to provide the extra cushion West Virginia needed to hold on for a hard-fought 28-23 victory.
"I had a little 10-yard spot route on and I saw Will (Grier) starting to scramble so I just went up the hash into the end zone and he delivered the ball and I made a play on it," White said. "Watching Will's eyes and watching where he was going, I just went up the seam to try and make a play before we ran out of time."
Is there a player in the country whose 51 catches for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns are as unsung as Ka'Raun White's?
The quick answer is no.
Or, consider what he's done in just 30 career games for the Mountaineers.
He ranks 14th in school history with 114 career receptions, 17th with 1,765 career receiving yards and is tied for 13th with two other players with 15 career touchdown catches. Those two guys he's tied with are far better known to Mountaineer fans - All-American flanker Danny Buggs and Ka'Raun's big brother Kevin.
But people inside the Milan Puskar Center are well aware of what White has done this year. In fact, over the last six games he might actually be the Mountaineers' most productive receiver - even more productive than Sills and Jennings.
He has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last six games, eight in all, while collecting 34 receptions for 698 yards. That averages out to 116.3 yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game and 20.5 yards per catch.
That's not too shabby for a wing man.
"We've got to make plays when our numbers are called," White explained. "Coach (Tyron) Carrier and Coach (Dana) Holgorsen were in our ears telling us the game is on us and we just had to make it happen.
"We just had to keep pushing and fighting to make some plays to help our team out. Keep it together, focus and make plays when the ball came our way," he said.
By the way, Ka'Raun also has a decent shot of catching Kevin's two-year Mountaineer career totals of 144 catches for 1,954 yards.
Who would have thought that? More to the point, who would have even known?
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