This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
John White IV was among the viewers of the 2014 Las Vegas Bowl, but it was news to him that his single-season school rushing record had been in jeopardy.
Utah junior Devontae Booker, as he soon learned, finished just 7 yards short.
"I was like, 'Aw, man, he was that close?'" White said in a telephone interview with The Tribune last week, joking, "I don't think he was ready to do it."
White, who has never met Booker, said he holds him in high regard and expects that Booker will put White's 2011 total to shame in 2015.
They have a lot in common.
Both took back roads to Division I stardom — White attending L.A. Harbor, where he totaled 41 touchdowns — and drew raves at Utah's spring ball before leading the Utes to a bowl victory as juniors.
Both long dreamed of playing in the NFL.
And both still dream.
After being described as "unbelievable" by 2011 offensive coordinator Norm Chow — displaying catlike agility and balance while darting forward for 1,519 yards — White injured his ankle and was featured less in 2012 before breaking his arm in the season finale against Colorado.
He's 5-foot-8. He doesn't have a blazing 40 time. He wasn't able to compete in postseason senior showcases due to his injury.
The NFL lost interest.
But in stepped the CFL — though it was little more than a vaguely familiar acronym to White.
The Edmonton Eskimos, winners of 13 Grey Cups, signed White in May 2013, and the Torrance, Calif. native began to learn about life north of the 49th parallel.
For one, that it can be every bit as cold as you'd think.
"It gets to like negative-15 and probably a little colder," he said, although, "Once it hits zero, it's pretty much cold."
He's enjoyed meeting people while visiting eight teams scattered across six vast provinces, he said, and gained and an appreciation for the talent of the men with whom he shares the 110-yard Canadian field.
It's not easy to stand out at running back in the CFL. There are just three downs — placing a premium on passing — and 12 players, with two backs splitting the touches.
"But I feel like if you can run the ball, you can have a great team on your hands," White said.
Edmonton improved this season from 4-14 to 12-6, as White's carries increased. He rushed for 852 yards, a 6.9 average, and made the CFL's all-star team despite a broken hand.
Of the possibility of catching the NFL's attention, the 23-year-old said: "It'd be great, because people tell me I could play there all the time."
But Edmonton has been good to him, he said. On Dec. 1, he became a father to a daughter, Londyn White, and if the CFL can help him provide for her, he's grateful.
And he said he has no regrets about choosing, as Booker recently did, to return to the U. for his senior year.
It didn't go how he wanted it to, and he might have had a better chance of landing an NFL deal as a junior.
But "I don't play what-if," he said.
"That's what makes me who I am. I just keep going. I just fight. It's a better story for me to tell."
Twitter: @matthew_piper