Rachaad White is a former 3-star recruit coming out of Mt. San Antonio Junior College. He was a two-sport athlete playing basketball and football. According to 247Sports, White ranked as the No. 50 player in the nation, No. 5 running back, and No.12 player in Missouri. His road to Division I football was not easy. Despite putting up more than 2,000 all-purpose yards as a senior in high school, he was overlooked. In 2019, he initially committed to UCLA before decommitting a few months later. He found his way to the Pac-12 after enrolling in Arizona State. White is a patient runner with a good second gear in the open field. He’s a dangerous dual-threat back in space and excels as a pass-catcher. White does not run with great pad-level—he has an upright running style. As a result, he has to work harder to win the leverage battle.

Ideal Role: Open-field perimeter back. He could assume the third-down/receiving back role early on.

Scheme Fit: Zone-oriented (inside and outside)

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Damian Parson

Games watched: USC (2021), Utah (2021), BYU (2021), Southern Utah (2021), Oregon State (2021)

Best Game Studied: USC (2021)

Worst Game Studied: Oregon State (2021)

Vision: White sees the field well with the ball in his hands. Between the tackles, he IDs lanes to cut toward. He possesses good peripheral vision. This allows him to make lateral cuts into openings or open gaps. He spots moving bodies on the second level of the defense to help decide his next move. He is an anticipatory runner that thinks and plans his next move ahead of time.

Footwork: See Above.

Contact Balance: White does not generate a ton of pop as a runner when contacted. He absorbs upper-body blows and fights through them well. Unfortunately, he does not handle contact with his lower body well. Defenders will either wrap up his legs or attack them to stop his momentum. He has been susceptible to ankle-biters and shoestring tackles.

Durability: During his tenure at Arizona State, White has a pretty clean bill of health. He did miss their matchup against Washington State with a leg injury—it was not deemed severe. White returned the following week to eclipse 200 yards rushing.

Explosiveness: See Above.

Versatility: He has a solid split between zone and gap scheme runs this season. 96 of his attempts were a product of zone blocks and 64 were gap play calls. White does not offer much experience as a kick or punt returner.

Elusiveness: White has a slippery running style. He leans and contorts his body to avoid big hits. He has forced 21 missed tackles this season. He uses his jump cuts to lose defenders in the alley. He executes a smooth spin move to evade defenders from his upfield shoulder.

Ball Security: White does a good job protecting the football. He has not fumbled this season. He covers and protects the ball when multiple defenders are present. He keeps the ball tight into his arm and the nose firmly in his palm.

Passing Down Skills: White’s A-trait or trump card is his ability as a pass-catcher. He is a threat out of the backfield and in the slot. He has more than 400 yards receiving and is averaging 10.6 YPC. He presents a mismatch for linebackers and some safeties.

Discipline: See Above.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus: 76.92/100 (Third Round Value)

Crabbs Grade: 78.50/100

Marino Grade: 76.50/100

Harris Grade: 74.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 76.50/100

Weissman Grade: 78.50/100

Parson Grade: 77.50/100