Polk Prospects: Receiver Jordan White Made Quick Impact at LCS
Fri. November 02, 2012 at 12:45 a.m. | By Polk Preps Staff
Wide receiver Jordan White transferred to LCS from Bartow. (Photo by HASANI HARPER | SPECIAL TO THE LEDGER )
By HASANI HARPER
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT
When Lakeland Christian wide receiver Michael Wheary graduated, head coach Wayne Peace had to figure out who would be the go-to guy for quarterback Christian Alexander.
Jordan White transferred from Bartow in the spring and didn't take long to make an impression.
"He fit in perfectly from day one," Peace said. "Bartow isn't much of a throwing offense, and we ask a lot from our receivers. The first time he ran routes, it was easy to see he was a special player. What I was surprised about was that he picked up our offense pretty quickly."
While newcomers can take a while to get adjusted to new surroundings White was able to quickly gel with his new teammates with help from an outgoing one.
"The day I transferred, it was Mike Wheary's signing day coincidentally, and I got to meet him, coach Peace and the coaching staff and the rest of my teammates," White said. "Coach was telling me how the spring and the season would go, and it got me excited about being here. I got to spend a lot of time with Wheary after school working out, and he helped me a lot with my route running and becoming a better receiver."
Peace hasn't seen a drop in the production of his offense because of the comparisons between White and Wheary.
"The only difference between the two is that top-end speed," Peace said. "But Jordan's quickness, toughness and enthusiasm is all amazing. Certain guys you just talk to them about what routes you want to run, and it's like if they never ran it before it doesn't matter because they just know how to do it, and Jordan is that type of kid."
White's speed and elusiveness impressed Fort Meade coach Jemalle Cornelius in their Oct. 19 game.
"There was a play in the game that he caught a hitch, and we had a cornerback on the outside, a linebacker inside of him and a safety over the top," Cornelius said. "You think there is no way he can get out of that. And he made a move inside, cut back outside, and got to the corner and scored.
"He is real quick out of his cuts and real elusive," Cornelius said. "He is a lot quicker than we expected and broke a lot more tackles than we expected. It's one thing to watch and try to prepare for him on film, but it's another thing to see it live. Making something out of nothing is what stood out to me about him."
Frostproof head coach Price Harris, whose team will play the Vikings tonight in a key district game, echoed Cornelius' comments.
"The kid is explosive and elusive in every film we have seen on them this year," Harris said. "Last year, we were idiots and didn't think Wheary was as good as he was. We learned our lesson, and we will have to make sure we know where No. 1 is at all times and just play ball."
White didn't catch many passes while at Bartow during his junior year and thus has stayed under the radar to colleges.
"We are about to start promoting him like crazy," Peace said. "Before he got over here, nobody really knew who Jordan White was, but I think Polk County and the teams we play have realized real quickly that this kid can play. The neat thing to me was the 7-on-7s we held this summer against all the big schools they were all talking about Jordan White. I have no doubt that we will get him signed because he is a quality guy and a quality football player."
White said one college has started to show an interest.
"I have been in contact with the receivers coach from FAU," White said. "He didn't find out about me until earlier this year, but he wants me to keep in contact with him. I'll have to wait and see after February if they still have any scholarships available, but he said if they do, I'd be the first to know, so that was exciting."
