No. 91 | |||||||
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Position: | Defensive end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | July 25, 1979||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Malcolm X Shabazz (Newark, New Jersey) | ||||||
College: | Minnesota | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2002 / Round: 7 / Pick: 229 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · ArenaFan.com |
Stylez G. White (born Gregory Alphonso White Jr. on July 25, 1979) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft. [1] He played college football at Minnesota.
White was also a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Orlando Predators.
White left New Jersey to attend the University of Minnesota. White played for the Gophers from 1998 to 2001; recording 132 total tackles and 11 quarterback sacks. He led the team with eight tackles-for- loss, five quarterback sacks and five forced fumbles his senior year and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. White played defensive end and line backer which is what he was known for in college.
White was drafted in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. [2] He signed with the team in June, [3] and made an instant impact during the preseason. In a 13-10 win over the New Orleans Saints, White recorded 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles [4] in a single game. "You have to be in the right place at the right time doing the right job," White said "I like this a lot. Hopefully I'll do a lot more pass rushing." [5] White was waived by the team on August 25, 2002. [6]
White spent the 2005 season playing for the Cologne Centurions of the NFL Europe. He recorded 7 sacks for a total of 56 yards lost, leading the entire league in both categories that year. [7]
White then spent the NFL preseason with the Chicago Bears. He turned in a 2 sack performance in a 6-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Bears last game of the preseason. "Hopefully I displayed enough to get a shot on this team" said White after the game. [8] He was waived the following day. [9]
In January 2006, White signed a contract to play for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. In his 2-year stint in Orlando, White compiled 17 sacks, including an AFL-record 15 in 2007. He was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.
After the Predators were eliminated from the 2007 playoffs, Head Coach Jay Gruden (the younger brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden) recommended White to the Buccaneers head coach, who promptly invited him to training camp with the team.[ citation needed ]
White was further enticed back to Tampa by Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin, who promised him a real shot at making the roster instead of simply being another (training) "camp body". [10]
After making the cut at training camp, White was instantly thrust into the limelight on the Buccaneers defensive line. The release of veteran Pro Bowl end Simeon Rice shortly before the start of the pre-season, injuries to free agent acquisition Patrick Chukwurah and the fact that top five 2007 NFL Draft pick Gaines Adams was deemed not ready led to White seeing extended playing time on the field.
In the game against the Atlanta Falcons in November 2007 White turned in a career performance. Starting opposite fellow rookie Adams, he sacked Falcons QB Byron Leftwich twice and forced two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Ronde Barber. The Bucs won the game 31–7 to take a 2-game lead at the top of the NFC South. After the game, Coach Jon Gruden was quoted as saying:
Every time he makes a play, I can hear my brother up in the press box saying: 'I told you so.' But he's a good kid, a good guy, a hard worker, and he does have natural pass-rush ability. He's raw a little bit in terms of the big picture, but I give a lot of credit to Greg White. We got him late in training camp, and he's made a real impression on all of us. [11]
White ended the 2007 season, his first with the Buccaneers, leading the team with 8 sacks despite starting only 2 games. [12]
He also led the team that year with 7 forced fumbles, [13] tied with Broderick Thomas for the most in franchise history in a single year. [14] White tied James Harrison for second in the NFL that year for forced fumbles, despite Harrison starting all 16 games and White starting just two. Harrison was named to the Pro Bowl for the season. [15]
An exclusive-rights free agent in the 2008 offseason, White signed his one-year, $370,000 tender offer on July 26. White later signed a new three-year, $2.845 million contract on September 15, 2008, with the possibility to earn more money in incentives. White was set to become a free agent in 2011.
White finished the 2008 season with 5 sacks, tied for second most on the team. [16]
For the 2009 season, White again led the Buccaneers in sacks with 6.5. [17] Through Week 8, his first stint as a starting player, he also led the team with 28 quarterback pressures. [18]
In 2010, his last with the Buccaneers, White recorded 4.5 sacks, leading the team for the third time in his four years in Tampa. He also finished the year tied for most forced fumbles on the team with 2 [19]
On August 22, 2011, White signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He was released on September 2, 2011. [20]
White was signed by the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League on October 12, 2011.
On December 15, 2008, it was revealed that the Hillsborough County Circuit Court had approved White's request to legally change his name from Gregory Alphonso White Jr. to Stylez G. White. [21] According to White, the inspiration for the change came from a character in the 1985 Michael J. Fox film Teen Wolf . [21]
At the start of the 2022 NFL season, White began writing a weekly column covering the Buccaneers for the St. Pete Catalyst. [22] He returned for a second year of coverage in 2023.
The Official Buccaneers website ranks White as the best player in franchise history to wear the number 91 [23]
FanSided ranked White as the 10th best pass rusher in Buccaneers franchise history. [24]
In 2019, the Tampa Bay Times ranked White as the 71st greatest Buccaneer of all time. [25]
White's seven forced fumbles in 2007 are tied for most in a single season in Buccaneers franchise history (Broderick Thomas 1991), [14] and as of 2023 are the most in the past 30 seasons.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Prior to the 1977 season, Tampa Bay switched conferences and divisions with Seattle, becoming a member of the NFC Central division. The Seahawks eventually rejoined the NFC in 2002, leaving the Buccaneers as the only NFL team not to play in their original conference. As a result of the league's realignment prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Jon David Gruden is an American professional football coach who is an advisor for the Milano Seamen of the European League of Football. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during their Oakland tenure from 1998 to 2001, where he won two consecutive division titles and made an AFC Championship Game appearance. Gruden was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, which he led to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII the same season. At age 39, he was the then-youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl. He served as Tampa Bay's head coach through 2008, setting the franchise record for wins, but made only two further playoff runs. After his firing from the Buccaneers, Gruden was featured as an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts from the 2009 to the 2017 seasons.
Simeon James Rice is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL Draft.
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