Why ZaQuandre White was quoting an NBA champion after career day as a Gamecock
ZaQuandre White paced South Carolina in rushing and receiving yards Saturday in the Gamecocks’ 46-0 shutout victory over Eastern Illinois.
But the redshirt senior running back — who returned to Power Five football in 2020 after bouncing between two positions, transferring from Florida State and having a stint at a Midwestern junior college — wasn’t satisfied after his career-best performance.
White leaned on a soundbite he’d heard in an interview from NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose Milwaukee Bucks just won the league championship.
“I can’t just reflect on the future,” he said. “I can just only reflect on now. As today ends, tomorrow is just going back to practicing, grinding again. It’s just a grind process, trusting the process.”
White totaled 133 yards on 12 rushes, good for an average of 11.1 yards per carry. White also caught the most receptions of any Gamecock — four — for 39 yards. He hauled in more catches and earned more yards than any wide receiver or tight end.
He produced one of the game’s most explosive plays, a 63-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and was the first Gamecock to line up at running back for the first offensive play of the Shane Beamer era.
Beamer said White’s emergence was a culmination of his work from spring practice, when South Carolina star running back Kevin Harris and highly-touted freshman MarShawn Lloyd were both limited while recovering from injuries.
The decision to start White was twofold, Beamer said: Because of the play the Gamecocks wanted to begin with, and because White deserved to be the first back out there.
“ZaQuandre, I mean, he was a warrior throughout spring practice and has been throughout the summer and preseason camp,” Beamer said after the game. “That’s why he went out first. ... ZaQuandre certainly earned that right.”
White had a long and winding path to being a leader at running back for the Gamecocks. He was the top tailback prospect from the state of Florida in 2017 and ran as a scout team player in his first year at Florida State. He then moved to outside linebacker in the 2018 season, playing in 11 games on defense and recording 22 tackles.
He eventually transferred from the Seminoles and elected for Iowa Western Community College, a JUCO program where he returned to the running back position. He rushed for 876 yards on 137 touches with Iowa Western in 2019, transferring back to the Power Five on South Carolina’s roster last year. His season-best at South Carolina in 2020 was a 29-yard showing at Vanderbilt.
While White truly burst onto the scene in terms of yardage Saturday, he shared the load with carries alongside fellow tailbacks Lloyd and Juju McDowell. Harris did not play in the Gamecocks’ season opener due to an illness, Beamer said. He’d been limited throughout fall practice while recovering from a back procedure.
“I love how the coaches are doing that,” White said about the shared snaps. “They told us that we will all be playing. ... All of us contributing to the team is just good. You can see that we’re on the rise to something great.”
South Carolina accumulated 263 yards on the ground in its season opener using a tandem of three running backs. Lloyd touched the ball 14 times, while McDowell and White had 12 carries each.
“You can’t have too many running backs,” Beamer said. “We’ve got four really, really good ones. ZaQuandre will continue to be a critical piece of that going forward.”
This story was originally published September 5, 2021 at 8:10 AM.
