Boston College Athletics
Brian White's Homecoming to BC
May 19, 2015 | Football
When he stepped into his new office in the Yawkey Center as Boston College's new wide receivers coach, Brian White had come full circle.
Growing up in Massachusetts's North Shore, White was the son of a football coach. The sport was in his DNA.
"I'm from the North Shore - Groveland, Massachusetts - which is about 45 minute north of here," White said. "My dad was a high school coach in Massachusetts at Belmont High School and Lynn Classical. I used to come to Boston College games when I was a kid after his high school games on Saturday nights where there was a game at home"
So BC was a big part of White's football passion and education growing up.
"BC has always been a place that's been deep in my heart," White added. "I have great memories of watching Mike Kruczek and Gary Marangi. Danny Conway was a local player at Haverhill High School and a great family friend who played here in the late 70s, so we used to come and watch him play a whole bunch. It was great. He was roommates with Mike Mayock, so I got to meet Mike before he became the famous ESPN analyst. We used to go to their apartment after games with the Mayocks and Conways and that was always a great time. I have a lot of wonderful memories.
"It took me 30 years to get here, but it's been a great experience," White said.
Coming off a six-year stay at Florida, White was presented with a new challenge: taking over BC's wide receivers upon Todd Fitch's promotion to offensive coordinator.
A call from his friend and former colleague - Eagles' head coach Steve Addazio - kick-started White's move north, but it was the situation and the atmosphere at The Heights that convinced White it was time to come home.
"My comfort level with Steve, and having worked with him and knowing him and what his core values really are (helped finalize the move)," White said. "At this stage of my career, it's important to be aligned with coaches and their values. I believe my values are aligned with his. I believe in Steve and everything he represents, who he is, what he wants to accomplish and how he wants to do it."
White and Addazio coached together at Florida during the 2009 and 2010 seasons when Addazio was the assistant (then associate) head coach, offensive coordinator and OL line coach and White was the tight ends/fullbacks coach. Their time coaching together in the same system made White's transition to Boston College and assimilation into a new staff easier.
Now that he's at The Heights, White is one of two new members of Addazio's staff, along with special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler (who was also at Florida with White in 2014). With a tight-knit coaching staff that's stayed pretty consistent though Addazio's first two years at BC, White has welcomed the warm reception by his new colleagues.
"It's a wonderful staff. They're great guys to work with day in and day out. People have been very supportive as I've learned the offense and I've really enjoyed myself."
While he arrived in what is now officially Boston's snowiest winter ever - Gainesville's average temperature in January and February is 68 degrees - White and the whole staff are getting ready for the 2015 Boston College football season.
"You always want to add and improve and enhance a team. People have been receptive to some wrinkles. But there have been a lot of successful things accomplished here in the last two years, so I don't anticipate too much deviation, and there shouldn't be. It's a good formula. It's a formula that wins. It's going to win again this year," White said.
