Coming into this season it was a given that a collective effort was needed in an inexperienced ASU offensive backfield to replace the production of Eno Benjamin. Tonight, the final piece of the Sun Devils’ running back roster has been completed with the addition of Walnut (Calif.) Mt. San Antonio Community College 2020 running back and former UCLA pledge Rachaad White.
“They were up there recruiting me for about a week,” White told Devils Digest earlier in the week prior to his public commitment. “I decided to commit to them because I like the energy. They show me how much they really needed a running back, how they only recruited me, and how they really felt about me and the development I can have there.
“Having the draft experience (Benjamin being selected in this year’s NFL draft) and NFL experience they have on this staff…I just like the culture that they’re building there and how Arizona State is on the rise. I feel like I could be a big piece to help them reach that conference championship and hopefully have the chance to make the College Football Playoff.”
The Kansas City native signed with D-II program University of Nebraska-Kearney where he redshirted before playing for Mt. Sac for the last two seasons. As a sophomore, he posted 1,264 rushing yards averaging 6.4 yards a carry and scoring 10 touchdowns, in addition to his 216 receiving yards and a pair of scores for the 7-4 Mounties. His 114.9 yards per game ranked second among all CCCAA running backs. As a freshman, he rushed for 392 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
White admitted that he was somewhat “surprised” that a team such as ASU with four scholarship running backs was pursuing him, but the limited experience factor showed him the value of having an upperclassman join a unit with limited experience.
The team’s only two returning scholarship running backs are redshirt sophomore A.J. Carter and redshirt freshman Demetrious Flowers. Carter played in a total of 16 games registering 19 rushing attempts and collecting 50 yards, while Flowers saw action in just one game last season.
The Sun Devils’ pair of true freshmen. DeaMonte Trayanum and Daniyel Ngata, who participated in the abbreviated spring practice, was expected to lead the charge for ASU’s ground attack. White is expected at a minimum to challenge one of them or both for a higher niche in the rotation.
“The coaches broke down their situation to me in a good and respectable manner,” White described, “and gave me a great understanding though. When it came down to like talent or something like that, I wasn’t surprised that they would recruit me. But when it came down to like, how many running backs they actually had in the room. I was surprised. They told me how they like to run the ball and how they like to keep good backs in case guys get hurt or something like that.
“They felt that I could be a big piece to the puzzle and help (quarterback) Jayden Daniels out, being able to run routes out of the backfield, and my speed (a reported 4.45 40-time) running the ball. They like how I’ve got more than one gear and take the top off. I could do all the great things that they have seen from great backs in the past. I know I can get my game more polished with my footwork, quickness, lateral quickness, and just getting stronger and bigger. I feel like when it comes to the knowledge of the game, I feel like I could get better, learn better.”
The running back was recruited by his fellow Mt. Sac alumnus and ASU’s co-defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce, and White enjoyed the relationship he has developed with him and the rest of the Sun Devils staff including its head coach.
“I like how coach Herm is a grown man that a young man like me will look up to,” White commented. “I like his character. He’s a fun and enthusiastic guy, and you can tell he’s a great coach. He loves the game and that’s one the things that rubbed off on me. Just him being honest and truthful with me. That goes a long way.”
White committed to UCLA last October, but he didn’t sign a Letter of Intent with the Bruins in December and decommitted from the program just days before the February signing day.
“it was kind of tough decommiting,” White admitted. “It was just a learning experience. Some coaches will tell you something that you want to hear but it’s not really the truth. I would say just I had committed to UCLA kind of quick and then I felt like that it wasn’t the best decision so this go around I thought I would take my time and just make sure that I make the right decision because I only have two years left to play and to prepare.”
The COVID-19 pandemic naturally prevented the running back from visiting any suitors and noted that Texas Tech, Indiana, Utah State. New Mexico, Fresno State, and Colorado State, Indiana were all schools he was considering in the last few months.
White has already earned his Associates’s degree and is academically qualified to enroll at ASU where he will join the team in fall camp. He has two years of eligibility left with no redshirt year.
It’s been anything but a smooth football journey for Rachaad White, and whether it’s that fact or coming into a fairly crowded running back room in Tempe, he’s more than motivated to prove why he was worthy of being such a late addition to ASU’s 2020 recruiting class.
“I’m just ready to get to work,” White said. “It’s pretty exciting and I’m just the type of guy that has the chip on my shoulder. I’ll enjoy the experience and I’m very thankful and blessed but there’s still work to be done.”
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Jesse Morrison contributed to this article
