I can’t believe I’m saying this, given the stage, but I think this is great because I like Kevin White’s verve and I actually enjoyed the conversation here. I also hope you like a whole lot of Kevin White coverage. I’m working on a 3,000 word story on the guy for draft day, plus a separate post here with overflow coverage, because I spent two days in eastern Pennsylvania and I’ve talked to a handful of NFL people.

And here’s what jumped out then and what jumps out here: There definitely is a conversation about his ego. It’s called different things, and you can imagine who chooses confident and who chooses cocky, who says arrogant and who says assured. Let’s stick with verve.

But people are asking and talking about it. Where does it come from? Is it authentic or is it an act? Will it help or be a hindrance? Is it something to seriously worry about or something to simply work on at the next level? Do you let it go or do you make it go away?

(Bigger question, from me and a few others: Exactly what does it matter? Are teams picking White or Amari Cooper based on quotes?)

Everyone I asked about it — and I mean the people who know, his brothers, friends, coaches, teammates and opponents, and not the people who asked me about it — insist it’s real. White’s amped up his verbiage, and he’s taken aim at being the No. 1 receiver (or being valued aside Cooper … or both), but this has always been his goal. It’s within reach now, so he’s going to discuss it because of how long and how badly he’s wanted it. The best part of that interview, I think, could be the most offensive or most honest, depending on your stance. But he says when the topic is Kevin White, he’ll speak strongly about Kevin White. (“Bombs over Baghdad” was on point, too.)

But it’s important to learn and remember he’s always had it, back to when he was changing high schools and waiting his turn, when he was having an uneven experience at Lackawanna College and, yes, WVU and even now during the pre-draft process. White was mad people said he had to run a fast 40 to solidify his first-round status, as though people thought he was slow. He was shocked his statistics, his performances against the SEC and the Big 12, weren’t taken more seriously. He couldn’t understand why others didn’t understand what he explains above, which is that while he was liberated by WVU’s offense, he was also limited to one side of the field. What he says here is brow-arching, but it isn’t new. Most importantly, it’s White.

From the beginning to the present, those people say White’s verve powered him through tough times and helped him reach this apex when he was at the bottom not long ago. You have to be this way to make it, and you have to act this way to play that way, is what they say. They know it’s a topic of conversation now, but they also know people are picking nits and looking for strings to tug at to see if this Kevin White Story might unravel. He only spun it tighter here, but it won’t stop people from pulling.