Clayton White says he’s never shied away from a good challenge.

And that’s exactly what he’s about to get. White – a former Stanford assistant with new WKU football coach Willie Taggart – was officially named Western Kentucky’s defensive backs coach Thursday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

“I saw this as a great opportunity for myself to come here and work with coach Taggart and it’s just another challenge for us that’s very similar to what we had at Stanford,” White said. “As a former athlete and a coach, this is just another opportunity for us to chase greatness. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

White spent the last three seasons on Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford, coaching the Cardinal’s defensive backs.

Prior to his stop at Stanford, White was a defensive backs coach at both Western Michigan (2006) and Western Carolina (2004-05), where he also assisted with special teams.

After finishing his collegiate career at North Carolina State in 2001, White spent three seasons in the National Football League as a linebacker with the New York Giants (2001-02) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003).

A self-described competitor, White was brought to the WKU staff not only for his coaching and recruiting abilities, but also for his passion for the game, according to Taggart.

“He’s highly competitive, highly competitive at everything he does,” Taggart said. “You play him in a game of marbles, he’s going to try to beat the mess out of you – and that’s one thing I’ve always liked about him. He reminds me a lot of myself.

“We talked a lot together about this situation out there at Stanford, ‘what if this, what if that,’ and that came to reality. He’s excited about it. He’s a great recruiter and he’s something we need here.”

White will immediately get into the swing of recruiting for the Hilltoppers, as National Signing Day is less than three weeks away (Feb. 3).

While at Stanford, White recruited Los Angeles County in California, northeast Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, west Tennessee, Florida’s east coast and south Georgia.

With the addition of White, Taggart’s staff now sits at six members. The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision allows programs to have nine full-time assistants, a number Taggart said he still plans on filling sooner than later.

Taggart said one of his main focuses now will be to add a defensive coordinator – a hire he says will be an outside move, and won’t be given to a current member of the six-man staff.