Russell Lamar White (born December 15, 1970) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for a single season in 1993. White played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the California Golden Bears, and was recognized as a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Thereafter, he played professionally for the NFL's

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

Early life

White was born in Pacoima, California.National Football League, Historical Players
Russell White
Retrieved February 25, 2012. He graduated from Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 25, 2012. where he played for the Crespi Carmelite Celts

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. As a sophomore tailback in 1986, he led the team to a state championship, rushing for 256 yards in the championship game. Slowed by injuries as a senior in 1988, he still gained 1,379 yards on the ground, caught 43 passes for 529 yards, scored 25 touchdowns, and was named to California Football's all-state team. Crespi's White Tops Valley Picks for Shrine Game
" ''Los Angeles Times'' (January 19, 1989). Retrieved February 25, 2012. He completed his three high school seasons with 5,998 rushing yards, 94 touchdowns and 568 points—all California state high school records. In 1986 and again in 1987, he was recognized as a high school All-American by ''USA Today'' and ''Scholastic Coach and'' was also a two-time Cal Hi Sports California High School Football Player of the Year. In 2023 he was inducted into the Inaugural California High School Football Hall of Fame.

College career

White received an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to attend the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he played for the Golden Bears teams from 1990 through 1992.California Golden Bears, Traditions
University of California Hall of Fame
. Retrieved February 25, 2012. He enrolled in 1989, but was ineligible to play as a freshman under the NCAA's Proposition 48 because he did not score high enough on the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

college entrance exam. Subsequently, diagnosed as suffering from

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

, he received tutoring and qualified academically to play in 1990. In the Bears' 1990 season opener against the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

on September 15, the first time he ever touched the ball in a college game, he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.''2007 California Golden Bears Football Media Guide'', , University of California Athletic Department, Berkeley, California, pp. 127, 128, 129, 135, 136, 139, 141, 149 (2007). Retrieved February 25, 2012. As a junior in 1991, he rushed for 1,177 yards and 14 touchdowns, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having received first-team honors from the Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Foundation. During his three-season college career, he amassed 3,367 yards and a 5.1 yards-per-carry average to become the Golden Bears' all-time rushing leader. He also scored 35 touchdowns on the ground—the most career rushing touchdowns in team history—and compiled fifteen games in which he rushed for 100 yards or more. White graduated from the university in 1993 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in social welfare, and was inducted into the University of California Hall of Fame in 2003.

Professional career

The

selected White in the third round of the 1993 NFL draft. He played for the Rams for a single season in .Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Russell White
Retrieved February 25, 2012. He appeared in five games for the Rams, primarily as a kick returner. He later signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in , but played in no regular season games. He finished his career with the San Francisco Forty-niners1996.

Post-playing career

White was the athletic director and head football coach at Desert Chapel High School in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

where he led the Eagles to back to back CIF Division titles in 2002 and 2003. White is now a teacher and was hired as the new head football coach at Castlemont High School in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

on April 30, 2010. White is currently the commissioner of the Oakland Section of CIF. He was announced to be the new head football coach/ Assistant Athletic Director at Flintridge Preparatory School on March 18, 2016. White is the nephew of former University of Southern California running back and Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, and the cousin of former UCLA and San Francisco 49er defensive back and kick returner Kermit Alexander.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Russell 1970 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs California Golden Bears football players Green Bay Packers players High school football coaches in California Los Angeles Rams players Players of American football from Los Angeles African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Sportspeople with dyslexia San Francisco 49ers players London Monarchs players