BYU Football Countdown: Player 46 – Backfield nightmare
By Adam Gibby
No. 46 Leon White – Linebacker – 1982-1985
Leon White was the kind of player that you didn’t want coming after you if you were a running back or a receiver catching over the middle. First off because he never missed tackles. Second, because when he got the hit, he made sure you felt it and remembered it for the next time you thought about running his direction.
White wasn’t as consistent as many of the other players on the countdown, especially in the Top 50, but his best season came at the right time, 1984.
Rankings
Impact B+
White was one of the leading tacklers, if not the team leading tackler during the 1984 Championship season. He also played quite a bit all four years of his eligibility making him a constant force and impacter on the team. His style of play was also really impactful because he was able to adjust and cover other players position when they were taken out of a play. Looking back at his film, there are quite a few plays when a linemen or other linebacker are blocked out of their lanes and White was able to adjust and change his position to help cover for them.
Statistics B-
In 1984, Leon White earns an A. That season he had 42 tackles, six sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, an interception and two forced fumbles. While the number of tackles is a bit low for a Top 50 player, his other statistics made up for it. The problem with White was that his senior year some of his statistics go down despite playing in an extra game. I researched and found no injury for him, and he doesn’t appear to miss any games in 1985. But again, as mentioned, he came through when he was needed most, in 1984 recording eleven tackles and two sacks in the Holiday Bowl that would clinch the National Championship for the Cougars.
Memorable Moments B
His 16.5 sacks, and pick six are memorable as well as how hard he hit offensive players when they came his direction. I was unable to find the Defensive MVP for the 1984 Holiday Bowl but with is nine tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss I find it hard to believe it would have been anyone else. White sort of reminds me of Kyle Van Noy to an extent where his stats seemed to always come in big moments or drastic ways. During his career, nearly 20% of his tackles came in the backfield, a huge number for a linebacker.