Former Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White will get his first NFL start with the New York Jets on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jets’ head coach Robert Saleh announced Wednesday.
White, who played two seasons with the Hilltoppers in 2016 and 2017, threw for 8,450 yards and 63 touchdowns with 15 interceptions in 27 career games. After playing two years at South Florida, White transferred to WKU and sat out the 2015 season before taking over as the team’s starter in 2016.
Replacing former WKU great Brandon Doughty – who led WKU to unprecedented heights as the quarterback – for the 2016 campaign, White stepped up to the challenge in a big way, throwing for 4,363 yards and 37 TDs with seven interceptions to lead the Hilltoppers to an 11-3 season that included a Conference USA championship and Boca Raton Bowl win.
White followed his breakout 2016 season with another strong showing in 2017, finishing the year with 4,177 yards and 26 TDs with eight interceptions as the Hilltoppers went 6-7 in then-head coach Mike Sanford’s first season at the helm of the program.
Following his career in Bowling Green, White was selected 171st overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was mostly a part of the practice squad and also served as the team’s No. 3 quarterback before being cut in August 2019. He was signed by the Jets in September 2019 as a practice squad player.
During the 2021 season, White has served as the Jets’ backup quarterback behind Zach Wilson. When Wilson suffered an injury last Sunday against the New England Patriots, White entered the game in the second quarter and completed 20 of 32 passes for 202 yards, a TD and two picks.
White, a 26-year-old Pembroke Pines, Fla. native, has a 2021 season contract worth $850,000. He and the Jets will kickoff against the Bengals at Noon on Sunday.
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