TAMPA — Redemption was on the clock. One more miscue, and Mike White knew he likely would be trading in his helmet for a headset.
USF's sophomore quarterback had lacked precision and passion in the first half Saturday against Tulsa, badly telegraphing his second pass of the game for a 46-yard pick-six as the Golden Hurricane built a 20-point lead. At halftime, Coach Willie Taggart told White he seriously was pondering a quarterback change. Instead of sulking, White scowled.
Taggart liked that. He liked the second half's third play from scrimmage even more.
Seeing a personnel mismatch, White directed tight end Sean Price to the opposite side of the line and switched to a run play, enacting one of Taggart's fundamental philosophies: When in doubt, run power.
Seconds later, freshman Marlon Mack was bursting through an interior seam for a 54-yard touchdown run. In 12 career starts, it was the first time White had flat-out changed a play.
"We have kills on our plays, so it's technically in the play-call," White said. "But yeah, that was the first time we as an offense just blacked (the original play). We blacked it to a different play and it worked."
And the evolution of a young quarterback took another major step up in the proverbial pocket.
"For him to see that, that was perfect," receiver Andre Davis said. "It showed maturity, a lot of maturity."
Tonight's game at Cincinnati represents a full circle of sorts for White, who at 19 remains the youngest of the Bulls' three scholarship quarterbacks. It was only two years ago, only 26 miles northeast of Paul Brown Stadium, that White made his first varsity start for Fort Lauderdale's University School.
In an ESPN-televised afternoon game against Ohio prep heavyweight Trotwood-Madison, White, who had played minimally as a junior, finished 20-for-33 for 123 yards and an interception in a 33-14 triumph. Tonight at Paul Brown, before an ESPN2 audience, he makes his 13th career college start.
So technically, he has a full season of experience. In those 51 weeks — he made his starting debut last Halloween at Houston — the winces have outnumbered the wins. Growth has arrived in spurts and sputters. White, 3-9 as a starter, still has more career interceptions (14) than touchdown passes (nine).
"We threw him in the fire (last year) where not only Mike didn't know what was going on, but the entire offense for the most part," Taggart said.
But his growth — verbal, physical and cerebral — has become more conspicuous, especially this October. Though clearly still a 6-foot-4, 211-pound work in progress, White's developmental timeline is nudging closer to seamless and farther from clueless.
Two of White's five career 200-plus-yard passing efforts, and four of his nine touchdown passes, have come in the past two weeks. His 56.7 completion percentage in those eight quarters (38-for-67) represents the second-most efficient two-game stretch of his career.
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Explore all your options"I think Mike understands what he's doing a lot better than a year ago," Taggart said.
Undoubtedly, a bulk of the credit goes to a bolstered run game (see Mack, Marlon) that has fortified play-action and created more single-coverage opportunities. But it's equally clear White has benefited from trials, errors and steady repetitions.
None of which he had in 2013, when he became Taggart's fourth and final starter of the Bulls' 2-10 season.
"Again, he was thrown in the fire (last year)," Taggart said. "When I say thrown in the fire, it's not like he got a lot of reps in training camp, a lot of reps during the week.
"He really didn't stand a chance to be very successful at that point. … He still needs more experience, more time, but I think he's so much better because of those six games he played in last year."
White's next progressions involve, well, progressions. Telegraphed passes such as the one picked off at Tulsa simply can't happen.
As for leadership? Coaches and teammates — including Davis — say he's eliciting more passion and enthusiasm these days. And while Taggart counted five dropped passes in the East Carolina game alone, he says White's accuracy also can improve.
But at this full-circle stage of his career, he seems far more likely to give adversity a scowl than a blink.
"I'm real impressed with him in showing some passion and enthusiasm when he's out there, and I know our team feeds off it," Taggart said.
"I think he's still in the process now of just trying to master his position."
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.