Southern Miss commitment John White shines in MRA's 48-6 season-opening victory
MADISON – John White was thrust into the fire last year when Madison-Ridgeland Academy faced Greenville Christian to open the MAIS season.
The sophomore made his first career start with the Patriots after transferring from Winona Christian and his performance showed flashes of potential brilliance and his extreme youth.
A year later, he's matured tremendously.
White, a Southern Miss commitment, is the face of the Patriots offense and showed that in a 48-6 rout of Greenville Christian on Thursday in their season opener. He went 13-of-21 passing for 163 yards with two touchdowns
White started Year 2 without graduated wideouts Davis Dalton and Street Toler along with leading rushers Quincy Phillips and Tyler Latham from last season. MRA’s former four-star offensive tackle Jimothy Lewis transferred to IMG Academy in July.
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"He learned a lot in those first three games last year," Patriots coach Herbert Davis said. "Against Pulaski Academy, he went 24-for-25 over there. He started hitting his stride and never looked back.
"He wants to be (a leader) and he expects to be. We've expanded our playbook this year because of that."
White finished with 310 passing yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in MRA’s 64-32 loss to the Saints in 2021. The Patriots started 1-3. However, MRA finished the season undefeated and claim its third consecutive MAIS Class 6A championship.
"That year of experience really helped me and I feel like I understand the offense more," White said. "I'm much more mature and better quarterback this year.
"At the year, I was a totally different quarterback than I was at the beginning."
White’s success shouldn’t come as a surprise for MRA fans or opponents in the MAIS. He finished with 3,935 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 14 games last season, along with two rushing touchdowns. He threw for 533 yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs.
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The junior picked up right where he left off with a threw a 36- and 22-yard touchdown passes to senior Rivers Godwin in the rout.
"We put it away after they beat us last year and as soon as the season was over this is what we marked on the calendar," White said. "This is what we've been working for all summer."
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound White is the No. 9 recruit in the state and No. 49 quarterback nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s also the first Class of 2024 commitment for coach Will Hall and the Golden Eagles.
"Hall offered me a little over a year ago and he continued to build that relationship and keep getting it stronger," White said. "I love the way him and his coaching staff do it at Southern Miss and that's what made it so easy to make that decision."
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Southern Miss football commit John White stars in MAIS opener
