Sophomore linebacker Devin White does not want anybody on his team to consistently work harder than him.
Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said he never let a teammate beat him to the ball, so White took that personally and applied it to his own game.
“When you’re out there, just give 150 percent effort,” White said. “If I’m always around the ball, I can potentially make a play.”
White wants to be the hardest working person both on and off the field. He is not afraid to go to the coaches and open the conversation about what he and the team as a whole can do better to improve.
“I told [LSU coach Ed Orgeron] our team is way better than this, and I know we can be better, so let’s come up with some things that you think that we need to do,” White said. “I [said], ‘I want you to hold me accountable and at a higher standard because I’m better than what I’ve shown, and I can be a leader for you.’”
White’s hard work applies into the film room. He beats everybody to LSU’s Football Operations building every Sunday morning.
At 8 a.m., he’s studying film long before most players and coaches step into the building. White watches the film and critiques himself after every game before watching it again with defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.
“My main reasoning [for showing up early] is extra film study with Coach Aranda and watching film by myself,” White said. “I think that’s like the major thing, because tackling and all that is easy. You have to do the hard part during the week of preparation.
Aranda works relentlessly with his defense to do that. He breaks down every tackle, missed or not, and works with the players on fixing those mistakes.
“It shows you how dedicated he is to coaching and how good he wants us to be,” White said. “If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t make it such a big issue, but he does and I’m thankful for that.”
White approaches every film session with the intention of getting better every time. Like Aranda, he studies the film closely so he knows the play before it happens.
“I think one of Devin’s biggest things is keying and recognition, understanding his formation and plays,” Orgeron said. “Although he’s not perfect. There’s been some times that he’s missed some hits. But his ability to maybe take the wrong step or take the wrong key, but he has speed. And when he gets there, he’s so physical.”
Despite leading the Southeastern Conference with 62 tackles, White acknowledges that sometimes his eyes will get him into a bad spot or cause him to take the wrong step.
This came to the forefront against Florida Oct. 7, when their offense faked a toss and ran a quarterback counter, and White’s eyes took him in the wrong direction.
“It got a lot of yards, but I still made the tackle,” White said. “I should have stopped the play probably with a two yard, one yard gain, but with me taking the wrong step because of my eyes. It took me out of the play and made it an 8 yard gain.”
He made up for that play soon after.
After missing a tackle on a screen play early in Florida’s final drive, White wasted no time redeeming himself. On 4th and 3, White tipped a pass that secured the Tigers’ win.
“When I read [Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks], he told me where he was throwing the ball because he was looking directly behind me,” White said. “I knew I had athletic ability, so I jumped up and batted it down. I didn’t care about a pick or anything, I just wanted to get the ball down because it was 4th and 3.”
For all of White’s individual work off the field, he knows it is a team sport, and they all have each other’s backs once they step onto the field. White has applied that philosophy to the defense, as younger players gravitate towards him and take after the things he does.
He opens himself fully to those younger players who may need help with the defense, similar to how he picked up habits from former LSU linebackers Duke Riley and Kendall Beckwith.
White wants to use his position on the team to help it improve as a whole, as he becomes more of a leader, both on and off the field.
“He’s a guy that’s moving around, flying to the ball and creating a lot of plays,” senior defensive end Christian LaCouture said. “He’s a key leader for our team. He’s very aggressive, and he picks the brain of the coaches to see what he does week in and week out to get better. He’s doing a lot of great things for our football team.”