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James White on Wisconsin: ‘If you’re a running back I don’t know where else you’d want to go’

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

James White is preparing to play in his third Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, but he always has a little time to promote Wisconsin and talk about his days in Madison.

Throughout the week, players meet with the media regularly to talk about several different topics. White, who is already a two-time Super Bowl champion in just five years in the NFL, was asked about his college career with the Badgers, and how that’s helped him at the professional ranks.

White didn’t shy away from giving Wisconsin some major props.

“If you’re a running back I don’t know where else you’d want to go,” White said. “You know you’re going to run the football, I mean you may split carries with other talented guys but everybody gets their opportunity and it’s a lot of fun.”

White certainly had a lot of fun out of the backfield in Madison. In his four seasons with the Badgers, he totaled 4,015 yards and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark as a freshman (2010) and a senior (2013). He also scored 45 rushing touchdowns during his college career.

In Super Bowl LI, White had an outstanding performance for the Patriots, totaling 139 yards and three touchdowns, which included the game-winning score to defeat the Atlanta Falcons.

Being prepared for that kind of performance was something he also credited to Wisconsin.

“Coming form high school I wanted to go to a pro-style system in college and Wisconsin was the perfect fit for me,” White said. “Being challenged there by all the coaches and learning as much as I could.

“I think that helped me out a lot, because once I got here, you’re asked to do the same thing. It didn’t take me too long to learn the playbook after going through that.”

White has been a critical part of New England’s offense again this season. He registered 1,176 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns during the regular season. White also caught four passes for 49 yards in the Patriots’ win over Kansas City in the AFC Championship.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB