Graney: Raiders’ Zamir White puts in time to be complete back

It’s not as if some large gray cloud is hovering over the field. Well, other than those which rolled in this week to momentarily pause the heat that has defined the Raiders’ training camp.

Josh Jacobs isn’t here, the star running back having stayed away while not signing the franchise tag. Things move forward.

One man’s absence is another’s opportunity.

Zamir White hopes to take advantage.

He is a second-year running back who has been receiving first-team carries in camp, who spent last season as one of a handful of backups to Jacobs. Spent it watching.

Mental toughness

Nobody could have predicted Jacobs would produce a career year and lead the NFL in rushing, that a player in White whom the Raiders traded up to select in the fourth round would be limited to 17 carries for 70 yards. But it happened.

White practices hard, runs hard, prepares hard. His mental toughness never has been questioned — the person who was given 14 days to live when born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. Who spent the first three months of his life in a hospital.

He also suffered a torn ACL in each knee — one as a senior in high school and another before his freshman season at Georgia.

So competition won’t faze him. He won’t be deterred trying to earn playing time, no matter what occurs with Jacobs.

“Finish. That guy finishes, man,” veteran running back Ameer Abdullah said of White. “He finishes all the way down the field almost every single time. He’s a guy who’s going to do the little things.

“He takes the coaching really well. I think he comes from a very humble upbringing, so I think that that’s what’s really molded him to be the adaptable player that he is. So just learning from that and always humbling yourself is what I’ve learned from Zamir.”

They all want Jacobs back. They should. He might not produce the same numbers as last season but has proven himself one of the league’s best backs. Skill isn’t a problem for the offense this season. Jacobs would make it that much more potent.

But until he arrives, White can continue to open eyes.

A coach’s scouting report from Josh McDaniels: White has the ability to see things when he has the ball, find lanes, cutbacks, when he’s supposed to bounce things outside, when he’s not, when he’s supposed to tuck it and make hard yards. Has great instincts to move forward on contact.

That when he is hit, there’s almost always the chance a few extra yards will be gained.

He was the same way at Georgia, where he led the Bulldogs in rushing his final two seasons. Always moving forward. Always gaining the toughest of yards.

He’s putting in the time, McDaniels said, to be a complete back. To be better in blitz pickup, improve in the passing game, continue progressing in all phases.

Jacobs will almost certainly report at some point, and the starting job will be his. But it’s important that White continues to develop. It’s important he receives more of a workload from last season. At some point, you need to figure out what you have in him.

You couldn’t really notice his growth until pads came on this week. He’s a strong, physical presence. Knows what to expect now. Understands everything more.

That’s not to say he didn’t impress a certain other back last season …

How he’s used

“Zamir is very athletic and has all the attributes you look for in a great running back,” Jacobs said in December. “Power, speed, blocking. I think it’s easier for a young guy to come in at the highest level and sit back and learn.

“But that second year — it’s like, ‘What’s next? I’m ready to get my feet wet.’ It’s going to be interesting to see how we use him in the future.”

They’re using him right now as a No. 1 back.

And until Jacobs returns, opportunity continues to knock.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.