Slow start, strong ending for UR QB;Early on, White falls, fumbles; then leads Spiders' rally

Published Oct. 19, 2010 10:07 a.m. ET

foxsports

Slow start, strong ending for UR quarterback

AMHERST, Mass. - On the University of Richmond's first snap, Montel White fell while handing off to Kendall Gaskins. UR lost a yard.

On Richmond's first called pass play, in the second quarter, the true freshman lost a fumble in the congested pocket.

"The first play, when I tripped, I actually laughed at myself," White said. "Because laughter is the best medicine. I just got up and played the next play.

"The fumble? It happens in football. Coach [Latrell] Scott told me before the game, 'Some things are going to go wrong.' And that was my one go-wrong for the day."

White recovered to pass the Spiders to an 11-10 win at Massachusetts, completing four passes (five attempts) for 47 yards on UR's game-winning drive.

His 15-yard pass to Tre Gray at :09 supplied the winning points.

White, a 6-5 lefty who hadn't previously appeared in a college game, played in only three games as a senior at Surry County High because of a serious right knee injury and a cut thumb.

But after UR took over at its 40 with 1:51 left down 10-5, White didn't look rusty.

"The young guy took control, and we're proud of him," Gray said. "[White] was calm. He was poised."

White was used at QB along with tailbacks Garrett Wilkins and Jovan Smith, who ran after receiving direct snaps.

"Going into the game, I wasn't really nervous because my team just made sure I wasn't," White said. "My team told me they were going to rally around me, and they did. The whole week, they just made me feel comfortable, so when I got out on the field, it was just like practice."

White completed three passes, his first three of the day, to get UR in position for the game-winning score.

"Obviously, the kid did a great job of leading us down the field and the offensive line did a great job in protection, and our kids were very smart, catching the ball and getting out of bounds," UR coach Latrell Scott said.

White acknowledged that the dramatic drive he engineered was "unexpected."

But he then added, "I did my job, and I guess I did it right. We won."