South Carolina’s Parker White lands two NFL chances
South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer is heading to the NFL.
Former Gamecocks kicker Parker White will participate in a rookie mini-camp with the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week, he told The State on Monday. Such a mini-camp is essentially a three-day tryout.
In a perfect world, he’ll only need the first weekend to land a spot on a roster.
“All it takes is one team, right?” White said.
White received interest from a handful of NFL teams in the lead-up to the draft, he said, but never received the draft-night phone call he thought he might get Saturday during the fourth through seventh rounds.
Shortly after the draft wrapped up, White was told by his agent that the Buccaneers wanted to bring him in for a rookie mini-camp.
“Unfortunately, the phone didn’t really ring for me throughout the day like I thought it would; like some teams may have led me to believe,” White said. “But it is what it is and I know that’s kind of way the cookie crumbles.”
White’s foray into the NFL marks the latest step in one of the more decorated careers in South Carolina history.
He surpassed Elliott Fry as the school’s all-time leading scorer with a 30-yard field goal against North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30. He finished his six years at South Carolina with 368 career points.
He also finished his college career ranked among the top three in program history in made field goals (T1st-72), field goals attempted (1st-99), extra points made (2nd-152) and extra point attempts (2nd-154).
“He’s automatic. He’s clutch,” head coach Shane Beamer said in November. “I don’t know if there’s a better kicker in the country.”
White concedes that the sixth year of eligibility he received via the NCAA’s decision to grant another year to all players who played during the COVID-19 pandemic was a blessing in disguise.
He finished the 2020 season just 11 of 19 on field goal attempts, while South Carolina slogged to a 2-8 record in Will Muschamp’s final season in charge.
Under head coach Shane Beamer in 2021, White and the Gamecocks built a foundation based on positivity, camaraderie and togetherness that saw them outperform virtually all preseason projections en route to a 7-6 record.
The Mount Pleasant product converted 16 of 17 field goal attempts and all 30 extra point attempts during the 2021 campaign. He also notched a career-long 54-yard kick in a Sept. 25 loss to Kentucky.
“I would have been in trouble because I didn’t have a good season in 2020 and the team wasn’t doing well,” White said in reference to receiving another year of eligibility. “We had a lot of unfinished business on the field. So to be able to capitalize on it the way that we did — winning the (Duke’s Mayo Bowl), for me to be able to break the record and go over like 90% this year — I think that was a testament to how the whole team worked.”
White is one of a handful of South Carolina players whose NFL careers will begin in earnest over the coming days and weeks.
Three former Gamecocks were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft in defensive end/linebacker Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare (Green Bay Packers), running back Kevin Harris (New England Patriots) and tight end Nick Muse (Minnesota Vikings).
Running back ZaQuandre White and defensive lineman Jabari Ellis signed undrafted free agent deals with the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, respectively.
South Carolina all-time points scored
- Parker White (2017-20) ... 368
- Elliott Fry (2013-16) ... 359
- Collin Mackie (1987-90) ... 330
- Ryan Succop (2005-08) ... 251
- Marcus Lattimore (2010-12) ... 246
- George Rogers (1977-80) ... 202
- Reed Morton (1993-96) ... 201
- Harold Green (1986-89) ... 198
- Scott Hagler (1983-86) ... 195
- Mark Fleetwood (1981-83) ... 186
- Dan Weaver (2001-03) ... 186
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 5:26 PM.
