LIFE'S TWISTS: Stan White, the former linebacker for the Colts and Lions and later the USFL, got a chance to get away from Baltimore to see his son practice at his rookie camp. But barely did he get settled when former Ohio State fullback Stan White suffered a high ankle sprain and looks to be lost for about three weeks. He was on the field Wednesday morning in a high-cut boot.
"He went to Ohio State, I went to Ohio State and I was drafted in the last round (the 17th in 1972) and played 13 years and he's an undrafted free agent who's got a good shot," White said. "There are similarities. But it's tough now with this injury. That didn't happen to me. I had a quad problem and I kept practicing the whole time and I was lucky it didn't rip all the way."
Times have changed. When White played under Howard Schnellenberger in Baltimore, he reported July 6 and spent 10 weeks in two-a-days in pads every day.
"This is a much easier practice now," he said nodding at the field. "And it's probably the way it should be with the salary cap and the way guys keep in shape.
As a rookie White played behind a trio of pretty good linebackers in Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks, Pro Bowler Mike "Mad Dog" Curtis and Ray May.
"We had a lot of veterans get traded and I ended up starting my second year and for the next 12," said White, a Kent, Ohio product whose big thrill was making his first start in Cleveland Stadium in the building where he used to go watch the Browns as a child.
The 225-pound White remembers knocking Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson out of a game and then former Buckeye and Bengals running back Archie Griffin once told him he also knocked him out.
"But I wasn't known as a big hitter. They must have already had concussions," White said. "Anderson just took off running. I stuck my arm out, and he ran into it."
White, part of the Ravens radio team, got a break with the preseason schedule because the Bengals open a week form Thursday and the Ravens don't go until the weekend. But with his son shelved, he won't make the trip to Detroit.
And he's used to making some outrageous trips. He still helps coach his son's old high school team, The Gilman School, on Friday nights, and last year he jumped in the car to head to wherever the Buckeyes were playing Saturday before catching up with the Ravens on Sunday.
He watched Lewis' career as a defensive coordinator in Baltimore convinced he could take the next step as a head coach. He remembered that first season in 1996 when Lewis ended up with guys like Maxie Baughn on his staff. Baughn had already been White's defensive coordinator with the old Baltimore Colts and the Lions.
"I was wondering how he was going to handle that, but he stepped in like he was born to do it," White said. "No hesitation. He took control. He took charge and got players going. They had some bad defenses in the beginning, but he persevered and they ended up having one of the best defenses of all time."
"(Lewis) is the perfect fit for here," White said. "They needed structure and he brought it to them."
