How his coach at FSU gave new Gamecock back a crucial tool to adapt at USC
What’s usually brought up as limiting a talented running back from getting work in a football team’s offense are some of the finer points: picking up blitzes and pass protection.
Gamecocks running back Zaquandre White has been dealt a bad hand this summer, first by arriving relatively late in July and needing to quarantine as part of getting to campus and then when a hamstring issue knocked him out for two of the four weeks of camp. And that’s coming into an offense that’s more complex than average.
But the junior college transfer has something to help in his tool belt to figure things out.
“Catching up, it’s been pretty easy,” White said. “Just being under Jimbo Fisher, and kind of knowing like pro-style offense. And so hasn’t been that hard.”
He clarified that it’s not a case of the offenses being similar as much as both asking backs to do a range of things beyond the pure running game in similar ways.
Fisher was long known for having one of the more complex offenses on the college level as head coach at Florida State and now at Texas A&M. Fisher and Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp worked for Nick Saban together at LSU.
The short-spoken White said he liked the running back room and liked the scheme Mike Bobo is implementing.
“I love the offense,” White said. “We’re a fast-tempo team, so just having speed and knowing your assignment, alignment. So I like how the offense is coming along.”
This is his third offense under four head coaches. He redshirted under Fisher, then was moved to defense by Willie Taggart. He left Tallahassee, landed at Iowa Western Community College and ran for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games.
Athletically, he might have the highest ceiling of the currently healthy Gamecocks backs and the most ability to bust big plays.
And he’s already caught the attention of one teammate for a key reason.
“He brings a lot of juice, a lot of humor, a lot of energy,” quarterback Ryan Hilinski said. “I mean, he’s tripping on the sideline. He’s getting guys going.
“It was fun with him in the scrimmage. I mean, because he’s just he’s hyping me up. If I make throw it I can hear him on the sideline.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 1:25 PM.
