GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Ethan White's number was called last weekend when Brett Heggie was not cleared to play.
And what a first start it was.
“I thought played really well. I thought he did a great job," said Gators head coach Dan Mullen. "He was able to stay relaxed and stay confident. He prepared the right way, played with confidence, and I thought he played really well."
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White had a solid afternoon. The true freshman offensive lineman did a good job on pass protection, while making some key blocks in the run game - he processed stunts, and showed off his power and agility in his first ever start for the Gators.
It was a good day's work.
"I wasn’t surprised to put him in that early," said quarterback Kyle Trask. "He is a hard working player and he produced everyday during practice. And I thought he did really, really well. I think he worked really, really hard and it showed on Saturday."
White's work ethic was shown early in his Gators career. The Clearwater native came in weighing nearly 400 pounds, however, he was determined to work on his body as soon as he arrived on campus. His determination and hard work paid off and White now weights 330 pounds.
His work ethic was one reason why John Hevesy did not hesitate to name White his sixth man when Chris Bleich entered the NCAA transfer portal last week.
"He's a kid who has been very conscious of everything he's done since he's got here," the Gators offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator said. "To me, he's earned the right to play. He went out there and performed well. Gotta keep getting better at a lot of things. But you know, again, you have a great chance to. You get to go on the road and play. To me, it's a little different challenge, but you have to be ready to go.”
That does not mean that White did not have a few nerves coming into the game last weekend.
"I just know he left the pregame meal pretty fast," said Hevesy. "He didn't eat the pregame meal. And we got our food, came down and he wasn't there. And I asked them and they said, no, he's not eating anything. So good thing it was a noon game."
"I know, I kept kind of joking with him," said Mullen. "I told him, I said, ‘hey, if I were you, you’re right there playing the right guard between Jean [Delance] and Nick [Buchanan], right? If you come off the field and you mess up and Hevesy starts yelling at you I’d be like, Coach, Jean told me to do that or Nick told me to do that. I’d throw everybody under the bus and just be confident. I thought that was pretty funny."
"There are two freshmen starting, so I told Nick [Buchanan], you got to keep both of them under control," added Hevesy on how he tried to help White's nerves. "Tthey are going to screw up, they are going to do something -- just get them back and play the next play."
White listened to every advice. He listened to every bit of coaching and did not let one error affect another play. There is a reason why, even before watching film, Mullen was quick to say that White "did a heck of a job" against the Commodores.
His work ethic and physical attributes will only help the first year Gator as he continues to mature in the trenches.
"He has massive size at 330 (pounds). He's thick and very athletic," said Hevesy. "To me, it's just good component to have on the line; he has all the traits you're looking for in a guard."
“You know he’s just a hard worker," said Buchanan. "He comes out everyday, comes out to work. He improves everyday on his technique, his fundamentals, little things you know. Really doesn’t take anything for granted, so it doesn’t surprise me at all when he goes out there and has a big game like that. I’m really proud of him and how far he’s come.”
