KC homecoming provides Rachaad White with ‘surreal’ experience in Bucs-Chiefs MNF matchup

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night, a small subsection of the stands will be rooting on a hometown kid. Already in his third NFL season, Buccaneers running back Rachaad White will be making his first appearance at Arrowhead Stadium, a new experience for the Kansas City, Missouri, native.

White, a product of Center High School, took an unusual path to the NFL. Lightly recruited out of high school, he was a 0-star recruit according to 247 Sports’ consensus rankings for the Class of 2017.

For the Yellow Jackets, White was the team’s best running back and best wide receiver. As a senior in 2017, he totaled more than 2,000 yards of offense, earning him a first-team Class 3 All-State selection, but no Division I college offers to choose from.

As a result, his college career began at Division II Nebraska Kearney.

“You just have to figure out what you’re passionate about,” said White. “For me that was football.”

White’s football passion manifested in frustration when he didn’t play during his freshman year at the Division II level. He redshirted, then decided to transfer to Mt. San Antonio College, a junior college just under 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

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By the time White left Mt. San Antonio, he was the No. 3 ranked transfer running back in junior college. A decommitment from UCLA led him to Arizona State, where a freshman class that featured multiple four-star running backs largely overshadowed his arrival in Tempe, Arizona. But when the games began in a COVID-shortened four-game 2020 season, White averaged 10.0 yards per carry for ASU, alerting NFL teams to his skills.

As a redshirt junior in 2021, White rushed for over 1,000 yards with the Sun Devils and had more than 450 receiving yards as well, adding 16 touchdowns in 11 games to wind up as a third-round pick of the Buccaneers in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Now, White returns to Kansas City to play a football game inside a stadium he never had a chance to visit growing up. One of four boys raised by a single mother, White was never afforded the opportunity to see former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles play in person.

“It’s very exciting, I’ve never actually been inside of Arrowhead Stadium,” White said Saturday in a video call with KCTV5. “I grew up, was born and raised (in Kansas City) but I’ve never been to a game. I never even met a Kansas City Chiefs player, so it just feels surreal to me. I remember my brothers would come home from the Tony Gonzalez football camps and I was just too young to go.”

On Monday night, when the undefeated Chiefs take on the Buccaneers, White will suit up for his 42nd career NFL game. He’ll do so less than 10 miles from the home he grew up in.

“For me to be able to come back home and witness that, it’s a surreal moment,” the 25-year-old said. “It really hasn’t hit me yet. I just know walking in that stadium and walking out that tunnel it’s all going to hit me.”

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White can recall Jamaal Charles’ 5-touchdown performance against the Raiders from memory. It was Charles’ play that served as inspiration for White growing up wanting to be a playmaker.

“You play tackle football with your siblings and all I really knew was running back,” said White, who totaled over 1,500 yards of total offense in 2023, scoring nine touchdowns for the Buccaneers as well. “That’s all I wanted to do was catch the ball and be able to make people miss or hand the ball off to me and be able to make people miss.”

Sunday afternoon, when the Buccaneers arrived in Kansas City, White met with Mayor Quinton Lucas to discuss growing up in Kansas City, White’s support of the local YMCAs and his support locally with youth organizations.

Too young to join his brothers for youth camps with Chiefs stars growing up, now, White is the one hosting the events. In June, he hosted his first youth football camp at Center High School, inviting kids between first and eighth grade to learn from him.

“I’ve got a lot of love for the city,” White said of his hometown. “What I’m trying to do is build a lot of stuff and come back and be able to give back to it as much as possible. Obviously, I play in Tampa now, but (Kansas City) will always have the most impact and hold the most special place in my heart.”

In the latest edition of Monday Night Football, White said he’s hoping to put on a show for the Kansas City crowd.

“It’s going to be a lot,” White said of his support section Monday night at Arrowhead. “I’m just blessed and grateful the ones that haven’t gotten a chance to see me play in person -- which is a good amount -- will get to see me play in person at the highest level.

“It’s a huge chance and opportunity for me to go out there and have fun, play and ball out. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing in front of a lot of Kansas City people out there.”

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