LenDale White loses weight, finds focus on football

By Jim Wyatt, The Tennessean

Titans running back LenDale White has slimmed down but said he's grown up.

Dogged by questions about his weight and commitment during his first three NFL seasons, White was ready for a change. But first he had to change himself.

"I don't feel like I (was) the best player I could be in the past. I took time off, too much time off,'' White said. "I'm not saying I wasn't working, because I was. But I don't think I pushed myself as hard as I could.

"But this is now ... and I haven't felt this way about football in a long time.''

White joined the rest of his teammates on the practice field Wednesday, the second day of a minicamp. The field was a welcome sight for many veterans, who spent the first few months of the offseason working primarily on conditioning.

This year, getting into better shape has been a point of emphasis for White. In March, he showed up roughly 20 pounds lighter than he did the previous offseason, at 238 pounds. He revealed on Wednesday that he weighed a whopping 261 pounds when he made his 80-yard touchdown run at Kansas City on Oct. 19, 2008.

So what prompted the weight loss and seemingly new approach? White got a pep talk from Coach Jeff Fisher, and has been forced to live with the memory of his crucial fumble in a playoff loss to Baltimore in January.

"I don't really care if I have an ab or not,'' White said with a smile, referring to a visible abdomen. "I feel amazing, man. ... You grow up. It takes awhile to grow up and everybody says, 'I told you so' and things like that, but you don't realize sometimes people are looking out for you and are in your corner. Jeff let me in on a secret before it was too late.

"I am doing this because I want to be great. I want kids to say, 'LenDale White, I want to be like him.' I want to be a Super Bowl champion.''

White, a second-round draft pick by the Titans in 2006, rushed for 773 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, one year after he racked up 1,110 yards and seven touchdowns. In three seasons, he has 2,127 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Still, many in the organization think he's capable of more.

His attitude and seemingly new approach have been welcome developments to those around him.

"LenDale said he was going to be a changed guy; he has started to show that this offseason,'' running backs coach Earnest Byner said. "I think it's important to him, because the perception of him is there, and the perception a lot of times is reality. He has to change that perception.

"You have to believe what you see, and what he has done so far has been encouraging.''

If nothing else, teammates say they've noticed a change in White's physique.

"He is smaller. He has lost a lot of weight, you can tell,'' running back Chris Johnson said. "He is working extremely hard. He knows and everyone else knows - a smaller LenDale is a better LenDale.''

"He looks great. He certainly looks better than he did last year at this time,'' quarterback Kerry Collins said. "It is a big year for him and it is a big year for a lot of guys. LenDale is a big part of what we did last year and we expect him to be a big part of this year.''

White, of course, will have to prove himself beyond what he does in minicamps in May and June.

And once again, he'll have some extra competition. The Titans drafted former Michigan State running back Javon Ringer in the fifth round of the draft last month, a year after drafting Johnson, who was named to the Pro Bowl.

Chris Henry, a second-round pick in '07, and backs Quinton Ganther and Rafael Little also will be in the mix, though White's experience and proven durability certainly give him an edge over those players.

Bring the competition on, White said.

"Listen, this is for ESPN, for everybody,'' White said when asked about Ringer. "I don't care if I was on San Diego's team, New England, any team. You can go get anybody - go get Emmitt Smith back, you can go get anyone and I will never run from competition. I never have and I never will.

"You can ask (former USC teammate) Reggie Bush, Chris Johnson. I will never run from competition. Barry Sanders ... I don't care who it is.''