Previewing The Utah Running Back: John "Wolfman" White IV

John White the Fourth is Utah's running game. He has accounted for 86% of all running back carries for the Utes in 2011 including 95% of the rushing yards for the 2011 Ute squad. White transferred from L.A. Harbor College as a juco conference player of the year (Central West Conference) and simply blew up the Utah running back competition. He has a passion for computer graphics, drawing, music, and wolves.

The Utes have reached the end zone 31 times offensively in 2011 and 14 of them were White rushing touchdowns. H'es averaging just over 24 carries per game, which has increased as the season progressed from 20 carries per game in August and September to 28 carries per game in late October and November. He leads all Pac-12 running backs in carries per game. White is the type of back that really gets into a groove as the game progresses. He improves his yards per carry by about 31% from first half to second half. From first quarter to fourth quarter, his yards per carry increases by 74%. Kyle Whittingham said the following about White:

"He’s as mentally tough and as physically tough of a football player as I’ve ever been around and I’m glad he’s on our side."

As a receiver, White has caught only 12 balls but picked up 2 touchdowns. Hays has a particular affinity for targeting White on 3rd down. All in all, the running backs for Utah haven't done much for the passing game. It all comes down to holding White under 100 yards rushing as Whittingham points out:

"The formula is still there. If he goes over 100 yards, we win. If he doesn't, we've lost."

Interestingly enough for Tech, we have gone 3-3 when the primary runner for our opponent eclipsed 100 yards rushing. So if Tech can hold the Wolfman to below 100 yards, Utah should be stymied offensively and a victory should be assured.

Prediction
Tech bottles up the Utah offense like the Bison of Colorado and wins in the 3rd quarter, 31-14.