Rachaad White Celebrates Shift To Real Football
July 28th, 2025
Finally! The day has come. Today the Bucs will practice in pads for the first time in 2025. And offensive linemen will clash with defensive linemen for real — with the urgency of grown men fighting for jobs and respect.
Until today, it’s been the usual frustration of underwear football practice, glorified flag football.
A good sports analogy for underwear football is having a basketball practice with the coach telling players that no contact is allowed while rebounding — and any player driving to the basket must get an unimpeded lane. That’s just not basketball.
Running back Rachaad White told Joe yesterday that today brings “a different mindframe for him as a running back.”
“It’s real football,” White said. “Obviously, with equipment on, you got to try to keep your legs up under you because the equipment weighs more. You just got to understand that it’s physical and it’s tighter, you won’t really be able to slam into — or be squeezing through — a lot of the stuff now [in underwear football]. It’s much better preparation and to be able to show your reads and ability.”
Joe asked White if a running back’s vision changes when linemen look a little bigger with pads and practice is more game-like.
White said it’s not about vision and much more about holes being tighter and closing faster with more natural play.
July 28th, 2025 at 3:39 am
Lets Go Bucs!
July 28th, 2025 at 5:43 am
So, is their equipment any heavier than what they used in college and high school? I would think the NFL would have the BEST technology and that said equipment would be lighter.
July 28th, 2025 at 5:48 am
“Until today, it’s been the usual frustration of underwear football practice, glorified flag football.”
True Joe, but you are the saving grace for us. You give us glimpses into the upcoming season and it is definately much appeciated.
Go Bucs!
July 28th, 2025 at 5:56 am
It will be full go for the most part. Up till now it has most likely been what my old coach used to call brother-in-law play. O linemen just going through the motions and really just leaning on the guy across from them. Learning plays as they do it. Not full go. I used to go to the practices at UT and when the pads went on it was sometimes shocking to see the difference.
Go Bucs!
July 28th, 2025 at 10:05 am
Football is soft now because the America people are soft now days.
July 28th, 2025 at 10:07 am
They wanted the sports down then started giving the players goats status. That’s why I don’t believe in goats in sports.