White looks primed for a breakout in year three.
As another four-win season was winding down for the New England Patriots last season, players could feel the dysfunction inside the building. Among them was Keion White, who was not shy in voicing his displeasure down the stretch.
But after an offseason full of changes that started by naming Mike Vrabel the team’s new head coach, White feels differently about where things are at the conclusion of the team’s offseason program.
“I have a really good coach helping me. Coach [Mike] Smith was telling me steps, alignment, things like that I haven’t traditionally heard. So, just that next step of having that coach behind me is really big for me,” White said after minicamp practice Tuesday.
“It’s helpful for me because it slows it down a little bit and it trains me. He’s doing a good job of saying, ‘This is what you need to think of; this is your thought process.’ That’s something I don’t think I had before and what I was missing. I was training myself, I’m not going to lie. Now, I feel like I have a coach.”
Smith was one of the last hires Vrabel made on his staff and one of the few that did not have previous working experience under the head coach.
A former linebacker himself who played four seasons for the Baltimore Ravens, Smith has coached outside linebackers and pass rushers for four different organizations dating back to 2012 — with a stop at his alma mater Texas Tech from 2013-15. During his time elsewhere, Smith has worked with many players in a similar mold to White.
“I think if you look at the history of guys that I have coached, they’re bigger rushers — the Rashan Gary’s, Za’Darius [Smith], Tamba [Hali], Justin Houston, Danielle Hunter. I like big, athletic rushers, and I think [Keion] fits that mold,” Smith said earlier this offseason.
“He’s got some learning to do — like we all do. If you’re done learning, you’re done. But with guys like that, you can move across the line, do different things with them. I’m really excited to put my hands on him. I love the way he plays. You can tell football means something to him. When you talk to him he’s a serious guy — meaner than a rattlesnake. I like that about him. I’ve had all different kinds of sizes and styles, but I think he’s got a good future.”
Throughout the offseason program, White and Smith have worked closely together as the third-year pass rusher has been disruptive in non-padded sessions. And Smith hasn’t been shy of moving White around. After largely aligning on the edge in OTAs, White saw some work inside over the course of mandatory minicamp.
“I like Mike. He leads with work. I can respect that,” White said. “It’s similar to Bill [Belichick], just with a younger face. I think we all know how I feel about that; I liked him. So it’s comforting to know that you have a hard-ass at the helm who will not be afraid to fistfight with you in a back alley.”
While White looks primed for a Year 3 breakout, his production should only be helped by the return of Christian Barmore and addition of Milton Williams along the interior of the Patriots defensive line this season.
All three project nicely into Vrabel’s more aggressive defense while they have all shown the versatility to move around the defensive line to play off of each other this offseason.
“We have really good guys on the inside who can get after the passer, even on early-down situations,” he said. “That changes things I can do a little bit. I can be a little bit less conservative and be more aggressive on the edge.”