Tony White’s answer to a question about how he and Florida State players are handling outside noise in the middle of a four-game losing streak came with a startling admission: The defensive coordinator has received death threats via social media.
“If you want to get caught up in, you'll get caught up in it. You'll get caught up in it real quick. You'd be surprised. You hear the stories and you hear all of the stuff. Got death threats,” White said on Tuesday. “All of this kind of stuff in my Twitter. If I want to get caught up in it, I'd get caught up in it. It would take me to a black hole. But you know what? They don't see the work. They don't see the guys in the locker room. It's not the same losing. They're fighting.”
Speaking for the first time after FSU’s 20-13 loss at Stanford, White was asked to clarify that he had received death threats. He referenced that it was a “couple” but also that threats are the reality of being a college football coach.
“You get that all the time, bro. That’s real,” White said. “Whoever it is. Death threats. ‘The worst DC in the country. Take you and your family and dah, dah, dah.’ That’s just part of social media, right? That’s just part of the vitriol that’s out there. And that’s what you sign up for in this profession, but that’s not why I do it. … I love when those guys are shining and they feel confident and they represent their families, they represent their university the right way.”
Earlier in the interview, White cited true freshman quarterback Kevin Sperry for his composure in the moments after Tommy Castellanos had to leave the game. White praised Sperry and said that people undoubtedly counted FSU out in the final minutes against Stanford with the backup in the game.
White also defended the Seminoles, who returned to the practice field on Tuesday.
“You watch them practice today, and it was probably one of our more physical practices, those guys running around,” White said. “Having people on the outside world tell everybody how crappy we are and all of this kind of stuff. Imagine those guys in the locker room being bombarded with, ‘How crappy you are, all this stuff, your coaches are crap.’ All this.
“And yet they're still expected to go out there and bust their butt and be as physical as all hell and make sure they represent this place as all possible. That's a lot of noise for those guys.”
Toward the end of the interview, White said “there’s something brewing right there” that will help FSU win narrow games. The Seminoles (3-4, 0-4 ACC) have lost to Stanford by seven points and Pittsburgh by three points the last two weeks. Prior to that, FSU rallied to make something out of nothing before losing 28-22 to Miami. The losing streak began with a double-overtime loss at Virginia.
FSU has a bye this week and will face Wake Forest on Nov. 1 (7:30 p.m. on ACC Network) on homecoming. The Demon Deacons play host to SMU.
