After his performance against East Tennessee State, Owls running back Chaston Bennett said quarterback Trey White has become a team leader.
Bennett said White communicates well in the Owls’ triple-option offense.
“Trey gets everything in order,” Bennett said. “He’s a hard worker so he makes sure everything is in order and everything is right.”
Coach Brian Bohannon said he sees White, a junior transfer from The Citadel, as a leader of the team and of the offense.
“He did a good job,” Bohannon said. “He missed a few reads and had a turnover. We had some missed cues down in the red zone, but it was a cumulative effort. It wasn’t just one person.”
In his collegiate debut against the Buccaneers, White was 2-of-6 passing for 96 yards and rushed for 96 yards, scoring the Owls’ first touchdown in school history.
Even with White’s interception and early offensive adjustments, Bohannon said he saw White as a leader of the team and of the offense.
“He did a good job,” Bohannon said. “The great thing about Trey is he’s a great competitor. You want to talk about a guy who every snap he’s competing to win. I was pleased with the way he handled himself.”
In the Owls’ 56-16 victory over the Buccaneers, White said he was proud of how his offense stuck together through the early “speed bumps” and adjustments of the game.
“I really think we made some strides offensively,” White said. “When things go bad, we have to stay together as a team, especially as an offensive unit.”
Bohannon said he was pleased with White’s ability to think and make unscripted plays against the Buccaneers.
“He found a way to make a play and got the ball to (Justin) Sumpter on a couple of occasions and we could have done that more Thursday,” Bohannon said. “It just didn’t come up once we got in the position where we needed to run the ball. The score was where it was and we needed to run the ball.”
Wide receiver Sumpter caught a 69-yard pass from White to score the Owls’ first touchdown reception.
“When we come together, we have to play as one,” Sumpter said. “Having chemistry, that’s going to make us successful later on and everyone working hard at what they need to do. Don’t try to do someone else’s job just do your own.”
White said as the quarterback of a new team with a triple option offense, he aspires to be a leader on and off the field.
“On the field, I’m trying to do the same thing we’re all trying to do — I’m trying to win,” White said. “I would definitely consider myself a leader, but we have a bunch of great leaders on the team. When you have a bunch of great leaders on the team, it’s easy to be a leader.”
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