Austin White is a former three star running back out of Livonia Stevenson (Mich.). When he signed with Michigan on Signing Day 2010 to play for Rich Rodriguez, he had offers from across the Big Ten, as well as from Les Miles at LSU. Things didn't quite work out at UM and when White started looking at schools again, Central Michigan was high on the list.

"The recruiting process was kind of weird. Being a transfer, it was a lot different than high school. I tried to contact the coaches who were interested in me in high school. Coach Enos made the move from Michigan State to here (CMU) and I felt like it would be a great fit for me to be here. As I kept talking to him and came to visit, I had a feeling that it would be the right fit."

CMU was very fortunate to get White to stay in state as he will be able to provide their offense and special teams with a level of talent and speed that can be elite in the Mid-American Conference. Even though he did not have an offer from the Chippewas out of high school, they had shown him some interest during the recruiting process.

"They were interested in me. They came to my school one time and sent me a couple of letters. It really didn't feel like they were going after me as hard as some other schools were. But they definitely shouted me out a little bit."

Despite being recruited to play in a spread offense at UM, the Livonia native played in a multiple offense in high school, so the transition from one offense to another has not been as difficult as it could have been for some players.

"In high school, our offense was multiple. We ran some spread there too, so it reminds me a lot of high school. I like my skills in the pro-set offense with the cutback lanes where you can use your vision. I enjoy it a lot. I like the spread too. I mean I like any formation. I just love football, so it (the formations) really doesn't matter to me."

White, still in just his first year out of high school, had a 48 touchdown run in the CMU Spring Game when he came in the full contact session with the second team. He took an inside handoff and bounced it outside and kept running to daylight. The run showcased his speed and agility, showing the potential that Chippewa fans have to look forward to when he finally sees the field in 2012

"It was really great blocking by our offensive line and our fullback. It was really a team effort, that's what I feel like. It felt great, but the thing about football is that it's always the last play that sticks in your head, so I still feel like there's stuff that I can work on. I'm just looking at things to get better at instead of the things that we did well."

Even though he is in his second program in his college career, these are his first spring practices. From all accounts, he has done well and he has enjoyed the experience.

"It's been great. I love the system, I love the coaches, I love the players and I love the campus. It's just been a great experience for me. I just love being on the field as much as possible, so it's just been a really good time."

White will have to sit out the 2011 season per NCAA transfer rules, but he looks at that as a positive and will spend the year trying to get better so he can earn a job when he is finally eligible.

"I'm looking to improve my speed, my strength, my knowledge of the offense because it's hard to play fast when you're still trying to think in your head about what you have to do on this play or that play. I definitely want to get the offense down pat and work on my speed and my power and just my overall game. So I think this offseason and next season, even with me not being able to play, is going to build my talent and hopefully I can get better every day."

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