Former MSU great Blair White talks about earning his way on to Michigan State’s football team, becoming a star and then playing with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts before giving it all up to go back to school to become an orthodontist.

Also: The Tinder Box, building fences, and DickPicks (Jay-Z cheated on Beyonce? WTF!)

BLAIR WHITE

Not highly recruited coming out of Saginaw, Michigan, Blair White went to Michigan State as a freshman in 2005 hoping for a spot on the football roster. He got one – listed 8th on the depth chart as a receiver. By his junior season he was a fulltime starter who became a star. His senior year, he was the Spartans leading receiver and tied for the Big Ten lead in touchdown catches.

Undrafted out of college, the Indianapolis Colts signed White in 2010. That season, he caught his first pass in his first game for a touchdown from future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. It would prove to be one of the highlights of a short career, as Blair suffered back injuries that forced him into retirement at age 25 during only his second season in the NFL.

Undaunted, he returned to school to become a dentist and next month will graduate from University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry. Dr. Blair White will go back to school for two more years to become an orthodontist.

There is no better example of perseverance and successfully reinventing oneself in the face of adversity. Blair shares some stories of playing with Manning - one of the all-time greats, the bitter rivalry between MSU and UM, playing for Coach Jim Caldwell (now head coach of the Detroit Lions), and finding out there’s more to life than football.

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