It wasn’t long ago when Bill Stewart introduced us to the “soldier dog” as he introduced Patrick White as the state sportswriters’ pick as the amateur athlete of the year. For the second time. Perhaps wanting to witness Stewart’s oratory brilliance, to say nothing of finally recognizing a native son, Alabama has dubbed White its best amateur.

He’s been named the state’s amateur athlete of the year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and will be honored at the group’s annual convention Sunday night at the Birmingham Sheraton.

“It means a great deal to me to know that, even though I’ve been gone from Daphne four years, I still have the support of the state of Alabama and people are still following me down there,” White said. “It’s really special considering I’m at West Virginia, and they have such a great tradition of football right there in Alabama.”

White is the second straight player to take home the honor after leaving the state to play college football. Former LSU star and Mobile native JaMarcus Russell was honored last summer. Four of the last five ASWA amateur winners have been quarterbacks.

“It’s a honor for Pat that his home state has recognized him as the state amateur player of the year,” Stewart said. “He is a great young man with outstanding character and leadership ability. He deserves any accolade he receives because he works hard and wants to continually improve himself.”