Cam White, a former captain of Hillsdale’s football team who graduated in December, is working on recovering from an October injury in order to show professional teams what he can do this spring.
Keith Otterbein, head coach of Hillsdale College’s football team, said during his time at Hillsdale, White “really kind of turned himself into a pro prospect through his hard work and dedication.”
Unfortunately for White, he tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus in the October 20 game against Saginaw Valley, and has not yet fully recovered.
White studied at Hillsdale for nine semesters and played five seasons on the team.
Now he is hoping to recover in time to have the NFL scouts look at him this spring, once he has been fully cleared. White said his doctor will look at him at the beginning of May, and will probably clear him fully.
Otterbein said after White’s knee injury, he “showed his absolute unselfishness” in the way he continued to support the team.
“He’s crutching around practice, which being on crutches is not the easiest thing to do anywhere, let alone crutching around a practice field. He’s just there being supportive of his teammates and trying to help as best he could,” Otterbein said.
While White’s individual stats are impressive, Otterbein said his legacy consists in his leadership, as he helped lead the team to a championship.
White agreed, saying what he is most proud of is being part of a team that won the GLIAC in 2011.
“Nothing can beat really accomplishing a goal with the entire team,” White said.
Otterbein, and senior quarterback Anthony Mifsud, both said they appreciated White’s versatility.
“This year was kind of special because Cam moved positions and he started playing tight end this year, which was an investment for him, but I think he was really open to it and willing to listen and willing to learn and to try something different, and I think we had a lot of success while he was playing at tight end this year,” Mifsud said.
Otterbein said White, who played wide receiver, tight end, and H-back, was difficult to stop because he was always in a different place. He compared White to Waldo (of “Where’s Waldo?”), saying defenses had to find him in a new place for every play.
“There weren’t any times where it was like Cam wasn’t playing well that day,” Mifsud said. “He was super consistent and reliable.”
White’s hard work quickly received notice from professional scouts. Otterbein said he gained attention especially up until his injury.
“I for sure think, had he not been hurt, he’d be lining up to be a free-agent-signee with somebody,” Otterbein said.
While White participated in a showcase at the beginning of March, he was unable to do little more than bench press, as he has not yet been cleared to participate in the running drills.
“I haven’t honestly been talking with teams, simply because nobody wants to be looking at damaged goods for a professional football team,” White said.
Mifsud said White has the potential to succeed given the opportunity.
“I think any pro team that would take a chance on him and give him a shot, he would definitely prove his worth if not even more than that,” Mifsud said.
In the meantime, White is working out at a gym in Grand Rapids, Mich. called Power Strength Training Systems, where he is also a strength-training coach for high school and college athletes.
“We only work with student-athletes that really want to get better,” White said. “It’s a serious commitment.”
The NFL draft will take place the last weekend of April, and most free agents will be signed soon afterward. At that point, any team looking at White would only have game footage from this past season to go by. After his recovery, he will have the opportunity to show his talent in person.
“Right now my goal is to get healthy and so that’s what I work for every day,” White said. “I just want that opportunity to, you know, try out for a team, maybe make it into a camp, or whatever it may be, if it’s this year or next year.”
