Nick White was a Division II and Division I football player on the East Coast and is now a defensive line coach at Quincy University. In his collegiate career, he was a 2022 All-P-SAC first-team defense alignment, a 2021 All-P-SAC first-team defense alignment, a Don Hanson Football Gazette All-American Honorary Mention, and played in 37 games on the defensive line with 31 starts, totaling 170 tackles, including 72 solo tackles. He followed in his father’s footsteps, Reginald White, who played four seasons in the National Football League with the San Diego Chargers and the New England Patriots, and is now being inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame and is about to retire.

What did it mean to attend the same school and play on the same field as your dad? 

Funny story, Carter. I actually did not want to play for my dad. But I got into a private school, Calvert Hall, where they did a lot of great things. It was known as a big school in Maryland. I wanted to go there, but my dad had other plans, which I appreciate. It turned out well for me. But just looking at him and my brother, I was like, I don’t know if I want to play for my dad. But it turned out to be a great experience. I mean, it meant the world. So many times we just got to sit back in his coach’s office and eat lunch together. I got to spend countless hours with him, and I actually appreciate him taking the time to lead me in that direction to play for him. I mean, I learned a lot, just everything based on what I played, especially playing the same position that he played, and he’s coaching me, teaching me things that I carry on and teach the D-line here at Quincy. So the main thing is, it’s just mental toughness he taught me, ability things. I mean, playing with your hands, like I told my defense a line, and just being dominant, you know, and the main thing is he always just told me to have fun and enjoy every moment of football because you never know when your last play will be.

Explain if you felt pressure or pride, or maybe both, coach White’s son? 

I would say I felt both. Pressure and being, you never really want to be the coach’s kid. If you mess up, everybody’s going to look at you twice as hard, like he’s only playing because your dad’s the coach. Still, I’m sure all my teammates, everybody on the coaching staff, and people at Milford Mill Academy can say, like, Nick White busts his butt and did everything he’s supposed to do to earn his right to play. And pride-wise, yeah, I take pride in it. I consider it like a family high school at this point. My dad, my brother, my uncle, and I went there, so I take pride in that white name being part of Milford Mill Academy football and everything we do. I mean, my brother accomplished a lot in his career playing in the NFL and CFL, and then I just took all the stuff they taught me growing up and used it coaching, as well as in my playing career. So I didn’t make it all the way to the NFL like I dreamed, but I get to try to coach guys and help them get there.

The state championship loss, you were crying on the sideline, and your teammates were on the other side crying. What did that moment teach you about your dad, both as a coach and a father?    

I just know it was tough for him. It was a devastating loss. We were up three or two scores at halftime and didn’t pull it out. So it was tough. I just lost my cool. I’m sure you know me as a coach. I tend not to lose my cool as much. I was pretty much the same as a player, but it was just a tough loss like that through my helmet. He caught me on the sideline crying. He was in between, trying to get the guys together and be there for me. But a tough loss —my last high school game at Milford. I mean, I know it was tough for him, and just losing period is tough, but that was the 30th year from when he won the state championship at Milford, because he won in 1987, and we were playing in 2017. So it was a lot of stuff behind it. I mean, we were in a position to win the game, which makes it even tougher. Like you don’t want to get blown out instead of losing close games like that. So the main thing is, I know it was tough, and I appreciate him for trying to do both—be my dad and coach all the 60 guys we have on the team. So basically, just what that taught me is, you know, like you’ve got to care for all you guys. I mean, you’ve got to care for them, like treat all you guys like, honestly, they’re your kids. So, that’s what he did, and for all the kids at Milford that he coached and the guys that played under him. I know they, some of them, really looked at him like a father figure, which he was. So I appreciate my dad time for that stuff.

What values did your dad instill in you both on and off the field?

Countless, countless values. I mean, on time, being disciplined, always giving everything your best shot. Like my dad was, he was a character. I’m sure everybody will say that. Like I love him, and like he had his non-negotiables. Like Cs on the report card or Cs on the interim report. Like you can’t have that, you know what I mean? So, as a kid, he basically ingrained in me not to be complacent about anything, you know what I mean? So growing up, I always had to strive to be better than the next man, you know, competing, and I had my brother beside me. So it was always a humbling experience being beside him, but you always knew that you could achieve more. So he always kept me going. He always really pushed me to put my best foot forward. I mean, growing up in high school, I wasn’t the biggest, strongest, or fastest. I really was just a guy who loved football and loved playing the game. So I’m just always believing in myself. Like I said, I wasn’t the biggest guy, but he always had faith in me to become what I actually became. So he saw the bigger picture in me before I did, honestly.  

You’re now a coach, yourself, a defensive line coach. What lessons did you take from your dad into your new coaching job?    

Main thing: defense alignment —just hands lead, feet follow, eyes stay square, thumbs up, elbows in. I remember that so well because he’s been teaching me that since I was about five years old. So the main thing is just those little things that you don’t really think that you know going into it. I mean, because I was coaching my first year, I was coming off a college football season, getting ready for my pro day, and I got the call from Coach Swanson, who is now the DC at UCO (University of Central Oklahoma), to come be his assistant defensive line coach. So I wasn’t really big into the coaching world before that. I got my master’s degree, and two weeks later, I’m almost on my way to Oklahoma to coach. So, I mean, you don’t think you know much, and then you realize you get into that position. It’s like pretty much all I knew growing up, like football was basically what he’s been instilling in me since I was a kid. So just little things like that, that he always taught me, and I take it now and try to teach these young guys here at Quincy.

What do you hope people remember most about your dad, not just as a coach, but as a man? 

Wow, great question. I mean so many things, you know, just how much he cared, and Milford isn’t like the biggest school in Maryland, and just being the NFL guy, like how much it is to go to the NFL, come back to your hometown, your home school, and coach. So I think just him being such a member of his community because he does a lot of things outside of his community and in the community as well that a lot of people don’t really see, but I see it every day because it’s my pops, you know, so just always trying to go the extra mile to help somebody out. I mean, he’s been in conversation to try to take kids in at Milford Mill Academy so they have a home and a place to sleep and eat. So just things like that. My dad is a great guy. I love him to death, man. He put me and my brother in great positions to succeed in football and beyond, and instilled in so many young men at Milford Mill in Baltimore County the values that have helped them succeed. So it’s a lot, everything he does, man. I hope it doesn’t go unnoticed, you know what I mean? So I hope he finishes and gets a ring this season. I know he’ll probably consider retirement soon, but whatever he does, man. I just hope everybody sees what I see in them.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I just want to shout out my mom. Mom Dukes is the rock of the family. It was just me and my dad. I mean, yeah, me, my dad, my brother, and my mom. So a lot of stuff she does goes unnoticed as well, being in the household with all men. So she’s the rock of the family, and everything she does is like, you know how it is. Mom, she takes care of everybody, just makes everything right. So I appreciate her as much as my dad. Just having both parents in my household isn’t really common in Baltimore, where I’m from. So, just having that is awesome for me. They led me to be a great man, a great coach, great player. So they instilled in me so many things, and I just want to say I appreciate both of them greatly.