AuburnFamilyNews.com: Sean White's Running Ability: More Agile Than You May Think

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Sean White's Running Ability: More Agile Than You May Think

He's got one very interesting spot on Auburn's fastest times board.

Yesterday, a fascinating story came out of Auburn's depth chart release with the word that walk-on kicker/wide receiver Will Hastings had earned a spot on the 2-deep. That article involved a search for whatever information we could find on his stats, abilities, highlights, etc.

Late last night, a thread on AuburnUndercover contained a picture from this tweet by Hastings' high school coach Kevin Kelley which shows Auburn's record board on speed/agility:

It was eye-popping that Hastings holds the top in three spots (10 yard, L-Drill, and Pro Agility). However, there was something else that caught my eye and the eyes of some of the commenters on our article, as well. In the "L-Drill" category, the #2 spot is owned by a "White."

There's only one player on the team with the name White, and that's quarterback Sean White.

We've heard quite a bit about how Sean's running ability is better than many people think. We've seen brief bits of footage, including this by WarRoom Eagle (turn the sound on, trust me) that shows he has some moves:

Even with that, though, second on the team in the L-Drill?!?

Just what is the L-Drill?

It's also known as the 3 Cone Shuttle Drill Test. According to topendsports.com, it's purpose is to test "agility, including speed, quickness, flexibility, change of direction, body control."

Sean White's time on the board in the above picture is 6.64. I think it's safe to say that's probably a bit fast and not as accurate as it would be at the NFL Combine. However, let's say for the sake of argument that it is 100% accurate. Where would that stack up among quarterbacks in the Combine since 2006? It would be second. Jordan Lynch owns the top spot at 6.55. Tim Tebow had 6.66 (no joke). Johnny Football was 6th at 6.75. Cam Newton isn't even in the Top 15. Cam was 10th in his NFL combine year with a 6.92. Nick Marshall posted a 6.96 in 2015.

6.64 would be tied for 4th in the L-Drill out of all players in last year's combine. Even assuming (rightly, I'm sure) that Auburn's numbers are off due to the nature of how the events are timed, it's still worth nothing that Sean White is second on the team. All of the other names on that board are wide receivers and defensive backs. Not even John Franklin III is up on that board for agility.

What Does This Mean?

Do you want a SMOKING HOT TAKE? Sean White is more dual threat than JF3. That's why he's the starting QB. He can make moves. He can make people miss. He can gain big chunks of yards when he does it. He's also a very accurate passer.

No, he's not Nick Marshall or Cam Newton. He doesn't need to run the ball anywhere close to the amount that they did. He just needs to be a threat to do it. This type of stat shows that he has more ability than what many previously thought. He's not a home run threat like Marshall was, but running the offense with the full playbook open is definitely in his wheelhouse because he can be a player to keep the defense honest.

Now, can he hold up if he takes a number of hits when he keeps the ball? That is a very legitimate concern that we'll have to find out about.

Just don't count him out as an effective runner is all I'm saying.



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