EXCLUSIVE: The Spartan Nation's Blair White Talked Today About the NFL Combine, MSU and Life!

Later this week the NFL opens their annual combine. It is a virtual meat market where only the top prospects get invited to be poked and prodded by the NFL

Later this week the NFL opens their annual combine. It is a virtual meat market where only the top prospects get invited to be poked and prodded by the NFL gurus. The Spartan Nation’s Blair White will be there and I caught up with him today from Irvine, CA were he has been working out preparing for what could be a life-altering event.

 

SN:Â How are you feeling?

BW: It is nice being 100% healthy. During the season and after it you have the bumps and bruises and all the things that go into a season. Now, I am probably in the best shape of my life and how blessed am I to be in that position just before the combine.

 

SN: Do you look at it like a job interview, just a really important one?

BW: Yeah (laughing) a really important one. We do a little bit of interview preparation stuff, but they really don’t handle us. They don’t want us going in acting prepared, they want us to be ourselves and that is what I would be anyways. It is nice to be preparing for a job interview while you are sitting in a therapy cold tub and doing a lot of drills.

 

SN: Coach Dantonio had a huge impact in your life. For the fan that isn’t close to you or the situation, how did he impact you?

BW: In a big way. I look at it and I didn’t play much the first two years. Coach Dantonio told me the very first day that he played walk-ons at Cincinnati and that he played the best players. He believed in me. He said that he loved walk-ons because they played for the love of the game. He told me if I earned it he would play me. I was just so happy that he and the guys had confidence in me. Not only did he and Coach Tread play me, but it was Brian (Hoyer) and Kirk (Cousins) that passed to me also. 

 

I am proud to say that I played for him and I consider it a supreme compliment that I wore that uniform and I am a Spartan. Coach and MSU did more for me and I just hope everything I do compliments them. God blessed me with the ability to play a game. It isn’t me. It isn’t my talent. It was given to me. From that talent to being able to play for Coach Dantonio and being a Spartan, I am just really thankful.

 

SN: How would you describe your style of play?

BW: I play like a maniac. I don’t care about going over the middle or who is on the other team even in the NFL. I just play one way and practice one way. You can’t love this game and love to play this game and be afraid. I just play like a maniac.

 

SN: What did Mark Dantonio’s arrival mean to the program itself?

BW: He is so much more than a coach. He is a parent. He sees his job as not only winning, but also he wants to build men of character. He doesn’t tolerate any bull crap. I don’t think people who aren’t in that building can really understand what he does and in such a special way how he does it. I felt worse for him about this year’s record than I did for any player or me. He is going to do amazing things and I support him 100%. He uses your time at MSU to get you ready for life. You learn that to function on that team and really in life you have to become comfortable with accountability.

 

SN: Being friends with your parents (Vicki and Kim) it sounds like he has a lot of traits like your mom? You do know she was crying after the Alamo Bowl.

BW: A lot and they are like him. My mom tried to hide things from me and just be tough on me. She and my dad mean a lot to me. They were great parents and it has allowed me to know that football is important, but it is what I do and not who I am.

 

SN: I know that you love being a Spartan, but what does it mean to you?

BW: Out here in California any time I can see the basketball team on TV I am watching and trying to follow them. I now really know what it means to be a fan.

 

SN: Do you allow yourself to stop and look at how far you have come and what really is before you?

BW: Absolutely. I am close to realizing a dream. I think it is important to work hard and I am going to make plays and I want an NFL team to know they can rely on me. I want guys to put trust in me and I want to earn it at the next level.

 

SN: I hope you know that you really earned the respect of the Spartan Nation and everyone is rooting for you.

BW: Thanks and I really know that without that respect I wouldn’t be here. I am representing our program at the combine too.

 

We will keep you up to date on Blair’s success at the combine. Keep it tuned to Spartan Nation for the latest.