NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Devin White preferred not to get into specifics about his conversations during his visit to the Giants, but the middle linebacker’s sales pitch was clear.
“When a team wins a championship, a Super Bowl, they always got a great middle linebacker,” White said. “You want to win, get you a great middle linebacker.”
Did general manager Dave Gettleman hear that?
“[That’s] what I told him,” White said with a big smile while standing on the field Wednesday at Nissan Stadium.
If Gettleman was convinced, White could be his pick at No. 6, which would make him the franchise’s first linebacker taken in the first round since Carl Banks in 1984. The only problem is he might not be there, with the Buccaneers looming as a potential fit with the No. 5 pick in Thursday night’s NFL draft.
The LSU junior is highly sought after, coming off a season in which he won the Butkus Award as the country’s top linebacker while piling up 123 tackles, 12 for loss, three sacks and three forced fumbles. A two-year captain for the Tigers, White said he believes his leadership sets him apart from the rest of the field.
The 6-foot, 237-pound White played in a 3-4 defense at LSU, the same style the Giants run under defensive coordinator James Bettcher.
“Coach Gettleman, he’s so funny,” White said. “I can’t speak about what we talked about, but he’s a great guy and I feel like I’m very much in play if I’m on the board at six.”
White said Gettleman gave him some information on how to talk to the media in New York if he ended up there. He does not think it would be a problem.
“I would love it,” White said. “I would thrive in it. Because I’m such a likable person. I don’t fake it. It’s just me every day, I wake up out of bed smiling.”



