Columnist: Former coach still cares about Rebels

Thursday, Sept. 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

RIGHT NOW, it doesn't look like a hard decision. Especially given the state of his current and former employers.

But make no mistake about it: Brian White thought long and hard before leaving UNLV to become an assistant coach at Wisconsin.

"It was a tough, tough decision," he said. "We had just won a championship and you don't want to leave. But professionally, it was a great opportunity and a chance to fulfill two of my goals -- coaching in the Big Ten and getting a chance to participate in a New Year's Day bowl game."

And while things are looking up at Wisconsin, White has a lot of sympathy for the struggling Rebels, who will host the Badgers Saturday before a record crowd at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"It's very difficult to see them going through this," said White, who is in his second season coaching the Badgers' running backs for Barry Alvarez. "I have a lot of close friends on the staff. I recruited a lot of those kids."

White was part of the 1994 UNLV team that came out of nowhere to win the Big West and win the Las Vegas Bowl. He was coaching the wide receivers, and UNLV had two dandies in Henry Bailey and Randy Gatewood.

But White also had an opportunity to move into the big time. And coach Jeff Horton, his closest friend at UNLV, wouldn't stand in his way. So he joined Alvarez at Wisconsin, moved into the backfield, rolled up his sleeves and found himself coming up short.

The Badgers were 4-5-2 in '95. The backs didn't get the job done. And White wondered how much of that was his doing.

"I wanted to give Jeff advice last year, but we were struggling ourselves, so I wasn't in a position to give Jeff any," he said. "The best thing we could do was support each other.

"I was questioning myself whether I was getting through to our kids. But Jeff told me to stay confident, keep believing in myself and don't change. That meant a lot to me."

But despite being only 32, White had been around the game long enough to know that it's just a matter of sticking with what you believe in. He has worked at all levels of college football, from Fordham to Notre Dame, from UNLV and Nevada-Reno to Wisconsin. And he said regardless of where it is you're coaching, you're still teaching, still motivating.

"You're working with 18- to 22-year-olds and you're still dealing with the same issues and problems," he said.

Things are off to a better start in 1996 for White and Wisconsin. The Badgers beat Eastern Michigan and the running backs gained 235 yards in the 24-3 win at Madison. Those numbers figure to improve this week against a UNLV defense that is surrendering 309 yards per game.

But it's not going to be an easy night for White emotionally. He has a lot of close friends in Las Vegas and he admits it will touch him inside when he arrives at the stadium Saturday.

"It'll be tough," he said. "I invested a lot of my life with that football program. The kids. The coaches. They're a big part of me."