Bowen: Tre'Davious White the latest in crop of talented LSU corners
MOBILE, Ala. - Tre'Davious White is an LSU defensive back, which means something to him, and to NFL draft evaluators.
MOBILE, Ala. - Tre'Davious White is an LSU defensive back, which means something to him, and to NFL draft evaluators.
"We put some of the best players in the league. We have a standard," White said Tuesday, when he took the field for the first time with the South squad, practicing for Saturday's Senior Bowl game. "It's 'DBU,' man. What you see is what you gonna get. I feel like we put the best defensive backs out there . . . I got a lot to live up to," as the inheritor of a legacy that includes Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid, LaRon Landry and Ryan Clark, among others.
LSU began last season with the most NFL players of any school (42), and, for the 2015 season, it boasted the most NFL d-backs (11). Tigers coach Ed Orgeron visited the South practice Tuesday and posed for a photo with the four LSU players on hand - cornerback White, wide receiver Travin Dural, center Ethan Pocic, and linebacker Duke Riley. That group doesn't include LSU junior eligibles who declared, running back Leonard Fournette and safety Jamal Adams, both projected as high first-rounders.
In some quarters, White, officially 5-11, 191 after Tuesday's weigh-in, is hailed as the best corner in the Senior Bowl mix, a group that doesn't include several top names, such as Florida's duo of Quincy Wilson and Teez Tabor. ESPN's Mel Kiper doesn't have White going in the first round in his most recent mock draft, but the NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah slots him 11th overall, to the New Orleans Saints. White said Tuesday he "absolutely" believes he should be the first corner drafted.
"I just want to leave no question" about who the best corner is this week, White said. "I'm out here to compete. Coming from LSU, that's all we do."
The Eagles, drafting either 14th or 15th overall, depending on a coin flip with the Colts, seem likely to be interested in White, no matter where he falls. They last drafted a long-term starting corner in 2002, and they have a crucial need. Corner, wide receiver, running back and edge rusher are their biggest problem areas.
White is a good friend of Eagles corner Jalen Mills, last season's seventh-round rookie from LSU whose aggressive approach won favor from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
"No doubt, 100 percent," Mills said Tuesday, when asked whether he expects White to add to the LSU d-back legacy. Mills recalled being impressed by White when he arrived in Baton Rouge as a five-star recruit from Shreveport.
"Tre'Davious, he's just a workhorse . . . He wanted to outwork everybody. Even the older guys. He was not a guy who was scared of competition," Mills said.
Mills described White as "a really quick-twitch type of guy. He can play off-man, he can play press. He can be physical at times, when he needs to," though in draft prospect evaluations, White's physicality is sometimes questioned. Mills said LSU defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, a former Tigers corner who played in the NFL with the Colts and Lions, "wouldn't put a guy on the field who can't do it all."
Orgeron was asked how White compares with Mills, whose physicality led to him being projected as a possible slot corner or safety during draft evaluations.
"Same type of character, different player - this guy's a true corner," Orgeron said. "He has all the skills. He has great feet and hips, he's been tremendously coached by Corey, he can press, play man. He's physical, can tackle. He's strong. Very versatile - good punt returner, great character."
White would have been a fairly high pick had he come out last year, but he decided to stay in school.
"I wanted to come back and be a better student of the game - film work, formations and things like that," White said. "I think last year I was ready physically, but it was mental. I want to be a Day 1 starter once I get there . . . I feel like I can ball with the best of 'em."
When he gets to talk to teams, White said, "my selling point will be getting up on the board and showing them how football smart I am."
He said the challenge this week in practice will be showing patience. "I sorta jump everything."
Mills, an alumnus of last year's Senior Bowl, said it's different when scouts are gathered around, peering at your every move in person, instead of watching you on film in some darkened office.
He said he told White that "there's no pressure. This is something you've been doing since you were a little kid . . . They're watching everything you're doing, but you're going there to play football, which you've been doing all your life."
@LesBowen
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