Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Rachaad White Has Played With Quite a List of Quarterbacks
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) are celebrating their latest win, a 29-25 win over the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) that gave the team sole possession of first place in the NFC South.
In the win, Buccaneers running back Rachaad White caught a screen pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield and took it 31 yards into the end zone for a critical score when his team was leading by a slim margin entering the final stretch of the game.
It wasn't enough by itself, however, and Tampa Bay needed a clutch throw from Mayfield to tight end Cade Otton in the final moments to take home the win and the division lead.
That clutch ability, White told Jim Rome on the Jim Rome Show is part preparation, but also part internal ability.
"Clutch is – the biggest thing for me is clutch is poise," White said. "I say that because the moment is never too big. It's never too bright for certain guys. And not everybody got that...Some guys be scared in the moment. So you could say preparation obviously goes into that, but you also got to say confidence and belief."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White (1) and quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) celebrate after a touchdown during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
While not everyone believes in the Bucs this season, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of belief in themselves.
For White, believing in Mayfield may have outwardly appeared to have been more difficult after playing with legendary quarterback Baker Mayfield for his first season in the NFL. After all, Brady is known for leaving a lasting impression, and one that is hard to replace or replicate.
White is no stranger to believing in quarterbacks that others don't see the potential in.
When the running back arrived to the Arizona State Sun Devils football program in 2020 there was a sophomore quarterback by the name of Jayden Daniels itching to earn his own playing time as well.
Both players got four games that year. The next, White played in 11 while Daniels appeared in 13, and after the 2021 season was over they both departed Arizona State with the running back entering the NFL and the quarterback transferring to play for the LSU Tigers.
Now both are viewed as valuable members of their respective offenses, but only one is collecting hardware this month, and White couldn't be more proud of his former teammate.
"Man, I was hecka hyped," White said about seeing Daniels win the Heisman Trophy. "It means a lot, man...That's my boy. That's my dog. We put a lot of time [in] my couple years at Arizona State. He put a lot of time in before that, and just to see his hard work, all the work he put in to get his body right, to build his body up muscle-wise, and just everything that, you know, (he's) been through and the scrutiny he was going through...I watched ASU fans turn on him and things like that...So just to see my guy do something that we got text messages (from) him saying he was going to go do...Man, it meant a lot. And I was in this corner the whole time and believed in him."
With a little luck and a determined roster, the Buccaneers are looking to do what Daniels has done and prove a whole lot of people wrong about their potential.
And while belief is a powerful thing, White and his teammates know they need a little bit of that clutch ability to go along with it this weekend when they face the Green Bay Packers (6-7) in Week 15 of the NFL Regular Season.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.
