Whiting senior Austin White still describes himself as “pretty shy.”
But White is a different person from the underclassman who transferred the first time, and the 5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback is certainly a different player.
So in getting situated with the Oilers, White really hasn’t drawn on his experience going from John Glenn to South Bend Riley between his freshman and sophomore years.
“The change from John Glenn to Riley was different,” White said. “I was a freshman, and they were like, ‘Oh, he’s not going to play.’ It wasn’t as easy to go to Riley. They had their doubts because there wasn’t much film. This, there’s a lot more film.”
Indeed, White came to Whiting with more than two seasons as an accomplished starter.
“The entire team has been very welcoming,” he said. “They’re excited I’m here. They’ve seen what I can do. I know what I can do for this team, how I can help this team out to win.
“They welcomed me. It felt normal. They made me feel at home.”
Home for White is wherever his father, John Jolley, goes. White’s transfers have been part and parcel of Jolley changing jobs from Glenn to Riley, where Jolley was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the past two seasons, and from Riley to Whiting, where Jolley is in his first season as head coach.
Jolley, a distinguished Army veteran whose service included the 101st Airborne Division and deployment to Iraq, has 20 years of experience as an assistant coach in the South Bend area.
“It sucks to be a coach’s son,” Jolley said. “It’s great when the coach never changes jobs. But when you’ve had a couple of changes, it’s tough. So before we even ventured on this, I was like, ‘What do you think? Do you want to do this?’ And he was like, ‘I play for you, wherever you go. Let’s do this.’ He’s enjoyed it.”
Both White and Jolley joked that living five minutes from the beach has eased the transition. They also spoke about Whiting’s tight-knit community, about the program’s tradition and history, and, in glowing terms, about former coach Jeff Cain, a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Jolley noted an increase in numbers at Whiting, the players’ dedication in the weight room and the youth of his coaching staff, which is mostly made up of recent graduates who played for Cain and are anxious to reinvigorate that culture.
“I was excited to come here,” White said. “It’s just making the most of my opportunity. We saw the potential in Whiting. We saw the film. We knew where we were coming. We have a big senior class. It’s that Whiting pride, and we want to bring it back.”
The Oilers opened this season with a 63-0 win against North Newton. Jolley saw how hungry the fans are for a winning team and how eager they are to embrace one again.
“The crowd was amazing,” Jolley said. “After the win, I didn’t think they were going to go home. They were on the track, coming out of the stands. They didn’t want to leave.”
In his Whiting debut, White ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another TD. But he had already proved himself to senior running back/cornerback Nakiya Moran, who ran for 140 yards and four TDs.
“He’s brought a lot of versatility,” Moran said. “Before he got here, I had no clue who the quarterback was going to be. But he got here, and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is our guy right here.’ He’s really athletic. He reminds me of Josh Allen. He’s a really powerful runner. He throws a beautiful deep ball. He’s a great quarterback.”
White has demonstrated it throughout his career. He took over midway through his freshman season at Glenn when the starter got COVID-19. He kept the job and threw for 338 yards and six TDs.
When Austin Foust departed as Glenn’s coach, Jolley reunited with Darrick Lee at Riley in 2022. Jolley had coached Lee as a player at South Bend Washington.
As a sophomore in his first season at Riley (5-5), White threw for 1,346 yards and 15 TDs and ran for 263 yards and two TDs.
Last season, White threw for 1,323 yards and 18 TDs and ran for 352 yards and five TDs. Riley (8-2) won its first conference championship since 1965, and then-senior running back Dominick Jolley, White’s brother and John Jolley’s son, was named the conference MVP. Riley won one game in 2021, the season before White, Jolley and Lee arrived.
Both White and Jolley envision the Oilers, who went 4-7 last season, having the ability to make a similar, immediate jump.
“I’m hoping for an undefeated regular season,” White said. “That’s what we all want. That’s what everyone wants. But we actually think we can achieve that as long as we do what we’re supposed to do.”
White believes he’s in position to put together his best season yet, simply because he had a healthy offseason, which he hadn’t had since he entered his freshman season.
After throwing five TD passes in his sectional debut, White tore the labrum in his right shoulder and missed Glenn’s season-ending loss. He underwent surgery.
The week before the scrimmage of his sophomore season at Riley, he tore the labrum in his left shoulder. Since it was his non-throwing shoulder, he was able to play through the injury — with a degree of pain and with it dislocating routinely — and delayed surgery until after the season.
White had no such impediments this offseason.
“He definitely has a lot of experience,” Jolley said. “He has by far the highest pedigree of anybody here. He’s won a lot of games. He’s been in a lot of big moments.”
