DJ White. (Ecstasy and Agony)

[SteamWhistle]

Does anyone else remember the Clemson game last year. Dj's sophomore year, It wasn't his best year. I remember Clemson specifically targeting him over and over again resulting to 2-3 TDs. I'm going to be honest, coming into this season I was very worried about our secondary after losing Thomas and Young. But man was I wrong. Without DJ White were 9-3 this season.
1. Pick against VT that clinched the Game.
2. NCST Pic-6 that flipped all momentum.
3. UGA game. Had to have a turnover, only up by 6.
It amazing how much deference an off season makes. Dj went from being your Avg. CB to one of the best of the Nation. That's all credited to his work ethic this off season.An with that being said I think Dj deserves even MORE praise than we give him. Thank you DJ!!

 

[MidtownJacket]

I can't wait to see him next year.

Gentlemen I have to say - I liked the CTR hire for the memories of the Black Watch (but never really was convinced he could bring the D back to that level). I was flat wrong. Everytime it seems we had a player get a pick, make a game saving tackle, disrupt a play, or shut it down on 4th and anything they said it had to do with preparation and film study.

It the guys take that to heart and continue through the offseason - with the new found aggresiveness and head hunter attitude we say 2nd half of the season - look out for this unit.

 

[deeeznutz]

Wasn't it DJ who tracked down James Conner for the goal line strip? I truly believe that one play set the tone for our end of season finish. It epitomized the "never give up" attitude our boys played with all season.

 

[B Lifsey]

It seemed like there was a lot of player progression this year. Congrats to the players and coaches for the hard work.

DJ really turned it on this year. The Conner run down against Pitt was another game changing play.

 

[GTech63]

It seemed like there was a lot of player progression this year. Congrats to the players and coaches for the hard work.

I thought tackling improvement was tremendous. Our O line blocking has been commented upon and rewarded, but down field blocking improved as well. If our D takes another 30 % step forward or better. Charlotte here we come. Maybe playoff here we come.

 

[GTJoeBrew]

I thought tackling improvement was tremendous. Our O line blocking has been commented upon and rewarded, but down field blocking improved as well. If our D takes another 30 % step forward or better. Charlotte here we come. Maybe playoff here we come.

Yup, all that we were missing this year was a pass rush. If we can get the for next year, watch out.

 

[potatohead]

Our secondary looked great this year despite some of the ridiculous passing number put up against us. It was great to see DJ pressing in short yardage/fields. He is our most legitimate NFL Corner prospect we've had in a long, long time.

If we can get a consistent, decent pass rush, we'll be in good shape.

 

[cuttysark]

With the big plays made by the secondary all year long, if CTR can generate a couple of pass rushers this D can get real scary quickly.

 

[gtrower]

I agree with the OP except for White INT clinching the game. This is a popular point made by VT - "we lost the game because of 4th and 15 and Brewer's late INT."

People seem to forget that the INT still put us out of FG range. I think the offense faced a 3rd and long right after the INT - a punt there gives them the ball back with plenty of time to drive down for a FG. But JT hit Smelter for a 1st and we drove the ball about 40 yards for the winning FG. Our offense had 100+ yards in the last 4 minutes of that game. Whole team made plays to win it.

 

[Animal02]

It seemed like there was a lot of player progression this year. Congrats to the players and coaches for the hard work.

DJ really turned it on this year. The Conner run down against Pitt was another game changing play.

I think in some ways the Conner run down was season changing. It really changed the momentum of the game and certainly gave the D a morale boost. Without Pitt's further collapse after that play...we could have easily had a 3rd loss in a row......who knows how the season would have ended up.

 

[yellojello]

Does anyone else remember the Clemson game last year. Dj's sophomore year, It wasn't his best year. I remember Clemson specifically targeting him over and over again resulting to 2-3 TDs. I'm going to be honest, coming into this season I was very worried about our secondary after losing Thomas and Young. But man was I wrong. Without DJ White were 9-3 this season.
1. Pick against VT that clinched the Game.
2. NCST Pic-6 that flipped all momentum.
3. UGA game. Had to have a turnover, only up by 6.
It amazing how much deference an off season makes. Dj went from being your Avg. CB to one of the best of the Nation. That's all credited to his work ethic this off season.An with that being said I think Dj deserves even MORE praise than we give him. Thank you DJ!!

TBH, DJ had excellent coverage in the Clemson game in '13. It was just that Boyd was placing the balls impeccably and the receivers were making tremendous plays. I was not down on him even a bit after that game. He was step for step with Sammy Watkins and played the ball quite well. All plays are not going to go your way, but if you're in every play, you've got a good chance.

 

[croberts]

Wasn't it DJ who tracked down James Conner for the goal line strip? I truly believe that one play set the tone for our end of season finish. It epitomized the "never give up" attitude our boys played with all season.

Definition of a 1 to 8 player ? Two letters (D - J).

 

[GTJason]

I agree with the OP except for White INT clinching the game. This is a popular point made by VT - "we lost the game because of 4th and 15 and Brewer's late INT."

People seem to forget that the INT still put us out of FG range. I think the offense faced a 3rd and long right after the INT - a punt there gives them the ball back with plenty of time to drive down for a FG. But JT hit Smelter for a 1st and we drove the ball about 40 yards for the winning FG. Our offense had 100+ yards in the last 4 minutes of that game. Whole team made plays to win it.

Well the pick happened with 2 mins left in the game on first down and we got the ball on the VPI 40. Before that our best hope was OT. Butker wasn't the kicker that day he was in the UGA game so I don't think he would make a 57 yarder, and I agree JT/smelter won the game, but DJ gave them the inch and they TOOK the mile. I agree it was a team win (and F*** was JT a beast that day) but without DJ...

 

[alaguy]

Based on ole Miss bowl game,I knew he had to be the bell cow in the PASS def this yr,other side CB was open and our safeties had to re-prove themselves. He was everything you could hope for.
I'm hoping Milton steps up also next yr like this.

 

[B Lifsey]

It's easy to say we would not have won with a player making a specific play...much harder to say a specific play won the game.

 

[DCSS]

I thought tackling improvement was tremendous. Our O line blocking has been commented upon and rewarded, but down field blocking improved as well. If our D takes another 30 % step forward or better. Charlotte here we come. Maybe playoff here we come.

I loved the way we stuffed the run the 2nd half against UGA and all game against MSU. At times, the pass rush was excellent, but it was not consistent.

 

[Boomergump]

TBH, DJ had excellent coverage in the Clemson game in '13. It was just that Boyd was placing the balls impeccably and the receivers were making tremendous plays. I was not down on him even a bit after that game. He was step for step with Sammy Watkins and played the ball quite well. All plays are not going to go your way, but if you're in every play, you've got a good chance.

Thanks for saying this. I was going to respond with essentialliy the same comment but thought I would read the rest of the thread first. Coverage was not DJ's problem in the Climpsum game last year. He was there. He just needed to play the ball a little better when it arrived, and maybe get a flag or two thrown when he was pushed in the back while going up for a pick. I think DJ learned a lesson about playing physically for the football in that game. Coverage was NOT his problem.

 

[danny daniel]

Thanks for saying this. I was going to respond with essentialliy the same comment but thought I would read the rest of the thread first. Coverage was not DJ's problem in the Climpsum game last year. He was there. He just needed to play the ball a little better when it arrived, and maybe get a flag or two thrown when he was pushed in the back while going up for a pick. I think DJ learned a lesson about playing physically for the football in that game. Coverage was NOT his problem.

Absolutely right. Had a good seat at Clemson. White had good close coverage against great receivers on perfectly thrown balls but did not play the ball well. At the OB he had similar coverage on two plays in the end zone and batted balls away on great concentration play on the ball. His tackling this season was also more physical. This year he seemed to be more game savvy and even a little foxy. Overall great Jr season and looking for NFL candidate Sr year.

 

[SteamWhistle]

Absolutely right. Had a good seat at Clemson. White had good close coverage against great receivers on perfectly thrown balls but did not play the ball well. At the OB he had similar coverage on two plays in the end zone and batted balls away on great concentration play on the ball. His tackling this season was also more physical. This year he seemed to be more game savvy and even a little foxy. Overall great Jr season and looking for NFL candidate Sr year.

 

[thebull35]

TBH, DJ had excellent coverage in the Clemson game in '13. It was just that Boyd was placing the balls impeccably and the receivers were making tremendous plays. I was not down on him even a bit after that game. He was step for step with Sammy Watkins and played the ball quite well. All plays are not going to go your way, but if you're in every play, you've got a good chance.

As I was reading this I was thinking this exact same thing. I was telling my brother last year that he was going to be a future mid-round guy if he improved his ball skills. He's ALWAYS there. I had gotten a little skeptical when he was beaten on that deep ball against Georgia Southern. But he more than made up for that.