INDIANAPOLIS – Mike White has plenty of questions for past Western Kentucky football players who have walked in his shoes.

White is meticulously picking out details and asking ex-Hilltoppers like Brandon Doughty, Forrest Lamp and Taywan Taylor about the transition from college to professional football.

As a quarterback, White feels as though he doesn’t have a choice to approach the process any other way.

“When you go to the next level in the NFL, it is the best of the best,” White said from his podium at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday in Indianapolis. “Every single quarterback can throw the ball and it’s the little things that separate you and that’s what I want to hone (in) on and show teams that I do have that obsession with the details and I want to further upon it with my career.”

Asking questions and being thorough is just the mental side of the skill set the former WKU quarterback believes makes him the top passing prospect in the upcoming NFL Draft. White shared a ballroom in the Indianapolis Convention Center with seven other prospects and fielded questions for 15 minutes from nearly a dozen media members.

Owning the spotlight on the other side of the room at the same time as White was Heisman trophy winning quarterback Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma.

Even when sharing the room with stars from higher-profile programs, the former All-Conference USA signal caller still believes he’s near the top of a talented crop of future professional quarterbacks.

“As far as throwing the ball, I’m one of the best in this class, at least in my opinion,” White said. “I just want to go out and show that. I think I showed that in the Senior Bowl and in the weeks of practice leading up to it. That’s what I want to show (Saturday) on the field. I can make all the throws and it’s kind of my strong point and the ball comes out of my hands smooth.”

White will participate in quarterback drills in front of NFL scouts Saturday morning at Lucas Oil Stadium, with workouts airing live on NFL Network.

WKU’s starting QB the last two seasons will be the fifth Hilltopper to participate in the NFL’s top scouting event. Linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe will take part in combine workouts Sunday.

“It’s a blessing just to be here,” White said. “You grow up watching this on TV and next thing you know, you blink and you’re here. So, it’s gone really fast. The days run together at some point. It’s awesome and you have to smile through the whole thing because it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

As a redshirt junior, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback led WKU to a 2016 Conference USA championship. He threw for 8,540 yards and 63 touchdowns in two seasons with the Hilltoppers. White joins his predecessor and fellow Florida native Brandon Doughty, entering his third year with the Miami Dolphins, as the only two QBs in school history to have multiple passing seasons of over 4,000 yards, and his career quarterback rating of 158.1 is second in program history.

The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native started his collegiate career at South Florida before transferring to WKU in 2015. He redshirted that fall and said Friday he followed Doughty around ‘like a puppy dog’ while Doughty set school records in WKU’s first C-USA championship season.

White took over and completed 67 percent of his passes as a junior under Jeff Brohm, but that production dropped last year under first-year coach Mike Sanford.

White threw for 4,177 yards and 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions, but was sacked 46 times and lost 12 fumbles.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gives White the eighth-highest grade among 2018 quarterback prospects with a 5.6 rating. By comparison, USC’s Sam Darnold is the highest-graded QB at 7.1, followed by UCLA’s Josh Rosen (6.1), Mayfield (6.0), Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (6.0) and Wyoming’s Josh Allen (5.9) rounding out the top five.

The other two quarterbacks ahead of White on the list are Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State, 5.6) and Luke Falk (Washington State, 5.6).

Zierlein projects White as a third-round pick and lists the QB’s arm strength as his biggest strength and lack of pocket mobility as his weakness.

On top of college tape, White had another week to showcase his skill set at the Senior Bowl in January where he completed 8-of-11 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Since that showcase, White has spent his time continuing to train in Florida with quarterback guru Ken Mastrole three to four times per week.

After the combine, White will participate in WKU’s pro day later this month and likely work out for teams individually leading up to the draft April 26-28.

“You’ve got Carson Wentz and the ‘smaller school’ guys that show if you can play, the NFL is going to come find you,” White said. “That’s kind of the attitude I’ve taken on lately. … Now that I’m here, all I’m going to focus on is talking ball with these coaches and show them how much I’ve learned and how much my mental aspect is going to make me transition.”{&end}