Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
David White, a local sportswriter, at his office in Mountain Brook.
Sportswriter, author and blogger David White has been covering high school, college and professional sports for more than three decades. The Mountain Brook native’s most recent book, a novel set in Alabama, is called “An Exceptional Coach.” The book follows Atwater High School football coach Kirby Williams as he is hired to help revive Western Alabama University’s struggling football team.
“I’ve always admired the coaches who have gotten it done the right way,” White said via email in April, “and that means by of course being successful in the win-loss column, but also excelling in character development and personal integrity.”
White graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1984 with a degree in European history. Trying to figure out his calling, he pursued a couple different careers, including at the family-owned O’Neal Steel.
“Sales in the steel business was not my forte, so I went into sports broadcasting before realizing I’d rather write,” he said.
After a stint at Bama Magazine in 1987, followed by other sports writing gigs in North Carolina, White moved back to his hometown, first contributing to the now-defunct Birmingham Post Herald before going out on his own as a blogger and author with five books to his credit.
Q: Your book focuses on a successful high school coach transforming a college team. What is your perspective on Bucky McMillan, Samford University’s men’s basketball coach and a former Mountain Brook High School athlete and coach?
A: Bucky is outstanding. What a developer of players and programs. What he did at Mountain Brook and what he’s doing at Samford are as good as it gets. His future is very bright wherever he ends up. It could be Samford for life, you never know. I covered him as a player for Mountain Brook at the Post Herald. He was always locked in, and he knows what it takes to be successful.
Q: With head coach Hugh Freeze in the driver’s seat, do you think Auburn football is going to get back in the top 10 rankings?
A: He has recruited well this season, No. 8 in the country according to Rivals, and has the No. 9 recruiting class for 2025. He’s got some holes to fill for next season, but he has the support to excel at Auburn. It’s certainly not a sure thing, but I do think he’s a good coach if he can maintain his composure and not lose it like he did at Ole Miss.
Q: Are there any lesser-known players at Auburn we should look out for?
A: A guy I’m also really interested in is rising freshman quarterback Walker White from Little Rock. He’s a four-star recruit and has excellent talent. Running backs Jeremiah Cobb and Daman Alston are extremely talented as well. This next season will be pretty compelling.
Q: Which professional golfers do you follow the most closely?
A: I went to Vanderbilt, so I like the Vandy golfers. Brandt Snedeker, Luke List and now Will Gordon, who are all on tour, are alums I keep close tabs on. Brandt’s pretty well known, and while the others aren’t household names, they are studs. I really like Scottie Scheffler. He could be an all-time great, winning north of five to seven
Majors.
Q: Do you feel like new head football coach Kalen DeBoer was the right hire for Bama? Out of this season’s transfer players, which ones stand out for you?
A: I like the hire. Those are gigantic shoes to fill, and I don’t know if anybody can come close to duplicating Saban’s past results, but DeBoer is an outstanding coach. Quarterback Jalen Milroe is the man right now under center for the Tide, but this transfer quarterback from the University of Washington, Austin Mack, is a 6’6”, 226-pound four-star (according to 247 sports). That’s head-spinning. I also like former five-star defensive end LT Overton from A&M and former four-star safety Keon Saab from Michigan.
Find David White’s work at davidhwhite.com.
