Albany State welcomes back longtime coach Mike White

ALBANY — Saturday will serve as a different type of homecoming for the Albany State Rams as they welcome the visiting Benedict Tigers and former ASU head coach James “Mike” White back to the Albany State University Coliseum.

After a standout career where he earned SIAC Player of the Year and All-American honors, White was named to the coaching staff in 1984. He was later named head coach and spent 15 seasons leading the Rams where he guided the team to conference titles in 2003-06, 2010 and 2013.

He was also named SIAC Coach of the Year five times and before he left for Benedict, put together a team that captured an SIAC East Division championship and came up just short of an SIAC title last year. He ended his tenure with a 112-51 (.687) record.

It hasn’t been smooth for White as his Tigers continue to go through their rebuilding project. Benedict is still searching for its first win of the season and is coming off a 42-10 beating at the hands of Morehouse College.

For current ASU head coach Dan Land, things will come full circle this weekend when the two face off for the first time in their respective careers. While serving as ASU’s athletic director, it was Land who named White the head coach in 2000. Land said after watching him build the defense for years while garnering the admiration of players and staff, the choice to promote him was obvious.

“It was his turn,” Land said. “The players respected him, different instructors and people on campus they respected him, and with that respect, he was set to be the next head coach.”

Land would then succeed his hire this past season, and he said facing him this weekend adds excited energy for he and the rest of his staff.

“It feels good to look across and say ‘that’s one of my mentors over there and a lot of stuff that I know and a lot of the way I do certain things is because of him,’ ” Land said. “What I try to do is just intensify it, take what he taught me and that knowledge that he gave me and try to move it to another level … and three-fourths of the team, they were up under coach White, so these kids they want to impress.

“It’s just like when your granddaddy comes home and you want to impress him and say ‘this is what we learned, this is how we do the things that you taught us.’ They’re excited.”

Former ASU defensive lineman Damien Goosby, who is now on the coaching staff, echoed those sentiments and added that White put more into the program than just a solid defensive scheme. Goosby said White helped them become model citizens and that White’s guidance and passion influenced a lot of those on staff to give back to the program.

“Even as a disciplinarian, people respected him. The players respected him and people worked hard for him,” he said. “That’s why guys came back and gave back to the program, because most of our coaches either played for or with him.”

He added that having that type of relationship with White gives them a bit of extra motivation to go out and perform well on the field this weekend.

“As a professional, you want to be able to face one of your idols and show them what they taught you,” he said.