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hen the highly-regarded running back
prospect from St. Thomas Aquinas High
School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., showed up
for the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, he already had a short list of potential college destinations but he had yet to formally commit to any program.
"I was still weighing my options," James White
said.
Although he was leaning towards Wisconsin, he
wanted to make sure.
"Just watching that game," White said, "helped
confirm my decision."
The underdog Badgers upset Miami, 20-14, behind a suffocating defense (five quarterback sacks)
and an opportunistic offense that divided the carries almost equally between two tailbacks: John Clay
had 21 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns
and Montee Ball had 15 rushes for 61 yards.
In frustrating the 'Canes by holding on to the ball
for nearly 40 minutes, Wisconsin had balance be-
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VARSITY December 26, 2013
JOHN FISHER
tween the run and pass: quarterback Scott Tolzien
threw for a career-high 260 yards and tight end
Lance Kendricks had seven catches, the second most
in the school's bowl history to Pat Richter (11).
Sitting in the stands, White was impressed by
what he saw.
"They ran the football, they played aggressive and
they fought until the end," White recalled. "I got a
chance to go to their hotel after the game and I met
a few players. Everybody was down to earth, everybody was friendly. That's the type of environment
that I wanted to be in."
A few days later, White verbally committed to
Wisconsin.
Reflecting on that trip to Orlando four years ago,
he said, "It had a great impact on me."
Now, he's going back to Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium where he will play his final game as a college
football player when the Badgers meet South Carolina in the 2014 Capitol One Bowl. White is hoping
to have an impact this time around by leading UW to
