Denver South High (Colo.) football coach Harold Johnson knew Lendale White had talent, but he was reluctant to put his freshman running back out there with the big boys as a 14-year-old last season. But it didn't take long for the youngster to show his coach that there was nothing to worry about.

White, who turns 16 on Dec. 20, racked up nearly 300 yards in his varsity debut more than a year ago and hasn't slowed down since.

	Lendale White, a sophomore, has racked up 1,740 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in just seven games this season for Denver South High (Colo.).

He gained 1,933 yards on the ground as a freshman last season and has racked up 1,740 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in just seven games this season.

Sophomore slump? Not a chance.

In less than two seasons, White has amassed 3,673 rushing yards and is well ahead of pace to break the career state rushing record of 6,667 yards.

"It's no surprise he's doing this well," says Johnson. "But this is a one-of-a-kind thing for an athlete of his age to do this - at least in the state of Colorado.

"Lendale doesn't even have peach fuzz on his face. His potential is unlimited."

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound White has helped transform South from an 0-10 team three seasons ago to one that has a legitimate chance to win the city title this year. He has the Rebels off to a 6-1 start and scored the game-winning touchdown, a 4-yard run, with 39 seconds left in a 19-13 upset victory over Montbello High (Colo.) on Oct. 13.

"I had a bad game, but we won and that's all that matters," says White, who tallied 104 rushing yards on 20 carries in the game. "We did a lot of play-action passes because they had nine guys in the box. They put everybody up on the line."

White's stature is still growing (he expects to grow two more inches), and so are the letters piling up on the table in his house. Colorado, USC, Michigan, Auburn, Michigan State, UCLA and Oregon have shown interest, but White is still hoping to get an offer from a certain school in the Southeast.

"To go to Florida State is a lifelong dream," says White. "But for right now, I think I might want to stay closer to home. That may change when I get older."

Much has changed since White was first approached about putting on pads and taking up the sport at the age of 6.

"I was scared to play back then," recalls White, who has a 3.1 GPA and has a back-up career plan (if he doesn't make the NFL) as a computer engineer. "When I turned 7, I decided to play, but I was real hesitant. They put me at quarterback and always ran sweeps for me. Then I moved to running back the next year."

Despite being an underclassman who receives almost all the publicity for his team's success, there hasn't been any animosity from his older teammates. That's primarily because of the way White has handled the attention.

"Most of the time he is real quiet," says Johnson. "He is getting a little more vocal, but he just goes about his business. He's not a rah-rah guy and just lets his game speak for him. Usually when a kid does this much so young, there is a lot of resentment.

"But not with Lendale."