Tevin White raves over official visit to ASU

Just because four-star Virginia running back, Tevin White and his family didn't know anybody in the Valley of the Sun, that didn't prevent them from arriving a few days early ahead of their official visit to Tempe. Ultimately, the North Stafford High School standout thoroughly enjoyed his time prior to being hosted by the Sun Devils, followed by a weekend which, according to him, “I'm not gonna lie. it exceeded my expectations.”

“Going in, I was messin’ with the campus,” White said, “I was messin’ with the facilities, every visit is gonna have that. But the way the staff has treated my family and me, it was crazy. Coach Herm invited all of us to his office, and it’s just not just my family but also my high school coach, coach Harris, and my trainer, KJ Johnson, like it was nothing…like we were already part of the team. Just the way they were treating us, talking to us all day, it was crazy.

“Even before Friday, walking around campus, and I was surprised that there were a lot of activities to do there even though the students were home for the summer. It was fun, and we even climbed one of the mountains around there, just enjoying ourselves. And there was just more to do in Arizona than I expected, to be honest. I pictured it to be like, a few buildings here and there, but it's really not like that. We were doing all this stuff before we even met with the coaches for the first time on Friday.”

When asked about his favorite culinary experiences, White, after some deliberation, named Romancing the Bean as a restaurant he and his family enjoyed prior to the weekend, as well as the staple of any ASU official visit, dinner at Mastro’s Ocean Club. “I had the best shrimp I had in my life,” White noted.

The running back was offered back in July of last year, and granted a strong bond was still formed between White and the ASU staff through virtual interactions. Nonetheless, it’s only natural that this level of relationship was elevated a good few notches over the weekend and a personal experience.

“They were all talking to me, my mom and my dad like we’re committed and they not recruiting me, but really getting to know me and my family,” White explained. “Like I said, all of us just walking casually into Herm Edwards’ office twice during the visit, that was unexpected. I didn’t know him (Edwards) that way as a coach.

“I don’t have a quote (by Edwards) that really stuck with me, but he was talking about how he likes to have his office open to players and family because he wants to show that we're family, and how are you going to show the parents and players that your family you have restrictions walking into his office? He said that the office is opened up to everybody to show that trust. And that really stuck out to me because it shows that it's really about family.”

For most of the recruiting process, running back Shaun Aguano has been the main ASU contact with White, and running back said that during the official visit, he was practically his host.

“On FaceTime and Zoom, we had great conversations as he was recruiting me,” White remarked. “But now in person, he was getting to know me more and more, like he didn't want to recruit me because I was already on the team’s roster.”

The official host was naturally a current running back. In this case, Chip Trayanum, along with his teammate Rachaad White.

“The first day of the visit when I met Chip,” White recalled, “It’s like I knew him for years. The way he was treating me, you could tell he was really good people and same thing with Rachaad. We were laughing and joking all the time, and they really got along with my family too.

“The running backs at ASU want to have the highest GPA on the team. So, the GPA goal is to be above a 3.0, but for the running backs, that goal is to be a 3.5. The running backs want to lead in everything they do; they want to show that the leaders of the team in life and in school, so I think that's really good. They put themselves on a higher platform, and they show that they really compete and work hard in everything they do.”

During his film session with Aguano, White could not help but noticed how much he and his skillset could potentially fit in the Sun Devil offense. Then again, being offered months before he got to see what Trayanum and White accomplished during the 2020 season was already an early indication and a promising sign for him.

“It’s crazy how with my versatility, ability to catch the ball, I wouldn’t be a one-down back. I can be used on multiple downs. We went over gap schemes I’m really familiar with like the power, counter, outside zone, inside zone…he was showing me who to read and how to read and stuff like that.

“Watching the way Arizona State was running the ball last season definitely impressed me. But it's not just that how successful they were, it was really how they use their running backs. Like I said before, I see so many similarities between them and how I’m used in my high school offense, and I could picture myself running the ball in this ASU offense.”

While you have one chance to make a first in-person impression, and by all accounts, ASU did extremely well in that aspect, judging by White’s experience, the lasting impression the program wanted to make to him and his family right before he left campus was just as important.

“What was really crazy,” White commented. “When my family and I went down the elevator to grab breakfast at the hotel and head towards the airport, we thought we were going to see just coach Aguano who was going to drive us there…but the elevator opens most of the coaching staff was there waiting to send me off. It was crazy. We didn't expect that, and they surprised right there.”

White didn’t visit any schools earlier in the month and is potentially going to visit Georgia as his lone visit the rest of the month. He added that his commitment date of June 24th, his mother’s birthday, is “set in stone.”

White, who did speak with an ASU Math professor during his visit as he plans to major in data Analytics, indicated that he’s actually scheduled to graduate high school in January, but that should not prevent him from enrolling in the spring semester of the school of his choice.

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