A graduate of Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, White did not receive a lot of notice while being the starter at quarterback, due to his perception as a better baseball prospect.
During those early years Kush gave him a chance to improve his skills as a quarterback, which eventually would lead him to become the starter midway through his sophomore season, ending up throwing for six touchdowns in a game against the University of New Mexico.
[3] The Dallas Cowboys selected him in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1974 NFL draft, but were mainly interested in him as a punter, so he chose to sign with the World Football League's Memphis Southmen for a better offer.
White shared the quarterback position with John Huarte, helping his team reach the semifinals as a rookie and a second-place finish in 1975.
White threw for 173 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, and his passer rating in the game was actually higher than Montana's, 98.1 vs. 81.4.
Even his statistically career-best 1983 season failed to silence the critics, after ending it with consecutive blowout losses to the Redskins (at home) and the 49ers after a 12–2 start.
To add insult to injury, the Cowboys lost the NFC Wildcard Playoff game to the Los Angeles Rams.
Dallas lost the game, 17–14, and without him the team faded badly, finishing the year 7–9 and the Cowboys first losing season since 1965.
White returned as the starter at the beginning of 1987, but after inconsistent play, he was benched in favor of Steve Pelluer for 4 of the final 6 games.
An option on his contract was not picked up in April 1989 and he announced his retirement on July 12, 1989, paving the way for the recently drafted Troy Aikman to take the reins of the by-then struggling franchise.
Being Roger Staubach's successor and never reaching a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback contributed to White's being an unappreciated player, even considering all of the successes he achieved for the Cowboys and the NFL during the decade of the eighties.
He was named the head coach of the Arena Football League expansion Utah Blaze, which began play in 2006.
His only single, "You're a Part of Me", a duet with Linda Nail, reached #85 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
[13] White and his wife, JoLynn, have four children, Ryan (d. 2015), Geoff, Heather and Reed, and sixteen grandchildren.