What Position Will Pat White Play in the NFL?

As the only college football quarterback in history to have started and won four college football bowl games in his career, you would think that Pat White as a good shot at playing quarterback in the NFL. However, it was Pat's running legs, rather than his passing arm that led to those big wins. Granted, the West Virginia Mountaineers offense increased their passing attack this year, and Pat White's passing statistics improved over his previous three seasons. But, these statistics and neither is White's passing arm are not going to be enough to impress NFL scouts to slate him in at the quaterback position.

NFL scouts are likely going to look at other quarterbacks that are rated much higher than Pat White on the draft board. So where does this leave White? Running back? No, he is too light. Plus, White does not have much power to drive through the offensive line. In addition, White seems to be prone to injury, as he did get knocked out of a couple of games over the past few seaons.

Kick-off return? Maybe. But, while Pat White is fast, there are much better return men available in the NFL that have more speed.

White's elusive running style and ability to evade open field tackling make him a prospect that any team would want on their roster. His style of running is very similar to Reggie Bush. White has about the same speed and power as Bush. This makes Pat White a good candidate to play as a third down specialist, or possibly the wide receiver position.

The New York Giants lost their third down specialist mid season with the arrest of Plaxico Burress. The Giants may be interested in White's athletic ability. Only thing lacking is the height advantage the Burress has over many defensive backs. A glaring weakness for the Giants down the stretch of the 2008 season was their inability to make third downs. It will be teams like the New York Giants that will have an interested in White.

Many NFL teams have turned to "wildcat" formations this season especially on third down. In this formation, the quarterback lines up somewhere other than behind center. Instead, the player with the best ball handling on running skills either takes the snap or more often, lines up in shotgun formation. He has the option to run, hand off, option, or option pass.

Players like Antwaan Randall-El, who was a quarterback for Indiana in college, often play in "wildcat" formations. Another example is Ronnie Brown of the Miami Dolphins, who probably ran more plays out of the wildcat formation than any player in the NFL during the 2008 season.

Where Pat White ends up will probably be up in the air until the draft. But one thing is for sure, he will play somewhere next season, and will be somewhere on the field making an impact .