Two-sport standout picks college football

Norm White, a two-sport standout at St. Joseph of Hammonton, wrestled with a gut-wrenching decision: Play football at Villanova next season or play basketball at Monmouth.

Villanova won.

White, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior who was an Inquirer all-South Jersey receiver in the fall, chose Villanova "because it's an excellent school and he felt it was best for him," Robin White, the player's mother, said.

Norm White said he would miss basketball.

"It's my first love," he said last night. "But Villanova felt like family; it felt like I belonged, and 100 percent of their football players graduate in four years, so that played a part in it."

White, who carries a 3.25 grade-point average, plans to major in accounting.

Monmouth and Division II Holy Family had offered basketball scholarships, White said. Monmouth made its offer Monday.

"It was all so stressful, and we're just glad it's over with," Robin White said.

White, who had 31 catches for 598 yards and seven touchdowns last season, will sign with Villanova today, the first day football recruits can sign binding letters of intent.

In basketball, White averages nearly 21 points per game.

Villanova will sign two other South Jersey players: Glassboro two-way lineman Donald Davis and Moorestown's Mikey Reynolds, a running back/wide receiver/kick returner.

Davis, a 6-4, 235-pounder, also visited Temple. "He had a good visit to Villanova, and his parents liked the academic aspect of it," Glassboro athletic director Jeff Cusack said.

Penn, Princeton, Maine, Cornell and Monmouth also showed interest in the fleet 5-7, 165-pound Reynolds. Division I-A colleges shied away from him.

"They thought I was a little too small," Reynolds said. "But it doesn't matter to me. I think I-AA is just as competitive as I-A. Look at what Appalachian State did to Michigan last year."

Appalachian State, a Division I-AA school, shocked nationally ranked Michigan, 34-32, on Sept. 1.

Washington to Lackawanna.

Holy Spirit running back William Washington, who led South Jersey in rushing yards (2,060), touchdowns (37) and points (226), will attend Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, Spirit coach Bill Walsh announced.

Timber Creek commitments.

Running back Julian Laing (Delaware State) and safety Dorian Evans (Monmouth) have made oral commitments, Chargers coach Rob Hinson said.