Brandon White- Talented Football Player, Musician
MADISON- Bob Jones football player Brandon White is a young man of many talents. So far in the 2023 season, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior has played defensive line, linebacker and tight end helping the Patriots in the quest to make the state playoffs in Class 7A Region 4. The multi-talented White, son of Bob Jones head coach Kelvis White, also posses a talent that many of his teammates are not aware of- plays the trombone.
“Yeah, I haven’t really played the trombone in about three years, but I can hit a few tunes on the instrument,” said White, who began playing trombone in the sixth grade after his mother insisted he play the brass instrument. “She forced me to play as I was in band class at Monrovia Middle School and I was taught by our band teacher and I was part of the competition bands. Matter of fact, our band became one of the prestigious bands in the area.”
White was one of 10 trombone players in the band which was made up of about 65 members and admitted he was just an average player of the instrument.
“I also took piano lessons while in elementary school and I learned how to read sheet music,” added White. “With the trombone, I need the sheet music to play a song.”
White carries a 3.2 grade point average and looks to study business and sports management once in college. So far, four colleges have offered him athletic scholarships to play football and he’s undecided of his choice and doesn’t plan on signing until after the current season is complete. He has offers from Tuskegee, Alcorn State, Alabama A&M, Southern Illinois State and Shorter University.
Growing up in the immediate area of Madison, White played basketball and baseball along with his efforts in football. Once in high school, he chose to concentrate on his prowess on the gridiron, which has been a blessing. He pushed through an extensive off-season training program to increase his productivity on the field. “For me, I had to do more in preparation for this season as I wanted to play better than I did last year. To do so, I throw myself into plays and making more tackles.”
White used to practice playing the trombone one hour a day when he was learning the skills needed to play. His efforts took a lot of time away from his playing sports, but admitted learning to play the trombone is a good skill to have. He has a Yamaha brand trombone that cost about $2,000, which he keeps in his room. He only occasionally picks up the instrument and plays.
“To play properly, you must have firm lips and depending on the sheet music do you know to blow hard or soft on the notes,” explained White when asked how to play the trombone. “The mouthpiece is similar to a trumpet, but much larger. You push the slide outward to lower the note and pull back close to make a higher pitch in the notes.”
As for the team, White described the personality of the squad as “We’re very competitive and knows everybody must buy in to make this team work to perfection.”
As for the playing of the trombone, White added, “Right now I could play a song, but it won’t be most advanced, but it would be a pretty good song.”
