Dawgs to Watch No. 9: Charles White

Charles White makes no secret that he likes to hit people. After all, the redshirt freshman linebacker is good at it. And if laying out an opponent was all there was to life in the SEC, White would probably be a star in the league already.

But as White quickly learned during his redshirt season last year, there's a lot more to playing middle linebacker than putting a licking on opposing ball carriers.

"You've got to master your game from every standpoint," White said. "You've got to master the playbook. You've got to know yourself, and there's a time for everything."

That's been a difficult transition for White. When there's a hit to be made, he likes to make it. But there are times as he's learned when being in the right place means not being the one to make the tackle.

The man in front of White on the depth chart, however, has done as much as anyone to teach him the ropes.

All-SEC linebacker Dannell Ellerbe has been White's role model, and that's made all the difference, White said.

"Him being here has been a great blessing because he's excellent at what he does," White said. "He's got excellent fundamentals, excellent knowledge of the scheme, he's just a person that you can sit back and observe how he does things. He's a good example and a great leader."

Now that the knowledge is beginning to catch up with the ability for White, he's turning coaches heads and putting himself in line for a lot more playing time.

"I see Charles White really beginning to learn," head coach Mark Richt said. "He's always been eager to strike someone, he's very physical. But he's getting more comfortable."

And comfort is the main thing for White. He's working on getting to the point where he no longer needs to think about where he should be or what he should be doing. Those things will be second nature, so he can get back to doing what he does best laying the other guy out.

"I'm just trying to treat practice as a game-type situation, so when the game comes, you can just react," White said. "It's not a thought, it's just reaction."