Local football greats chase a championship with UFL’s Michigan Panthers

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

Most of the highlights of veteran linebacker Javin White’s football career have come in Las Vegas.

A member of UNLV’s All-Decade Team in the 2010s, he might have been the most decorated member of the Scarlet and Gray during coach Tony Sanchez’s tenure. He turned his college success into a shot with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent and seized the opportunity as a rookie.

After a standout training camp with the Silver and Black, White made the practice squad and was eventually promoted to the active roster where he saw action in four games toward the end of the 2020 season.

“As a kid being 7 years old and dreaming of playing in the NFL and then being in an NFL game, there’s no better feeling,” White recently reflected. “Once you hit that, I believe you’re established and achieved the goal you wanted to achieve. Then, wherever the course takes me, I just ride with it.”

White’s course has since extended about twice as long as the average professional football career. The 27-year-old is now in his sixth season as a professional, currently playing for the United Football League’s Michigan Panthers for a second consecutive year.

Defense is a big reason why the Panthers reached the UFL playoffs, with a semifinal matchup at the Birmingham Stallions scheduled for noon PDT Sunday on ABC, and White isn’t the only player with local ties on the unit.   

Liberty High great Kai Nacua has earned first-team All UFL honors in back-to-back seasons as a ballhawking and hard-hitting safety.

“This is year eight (as a professional) for him, so he’s one of those guys that carries himself as a true pro, night and day,” White said of Nacua. “To see how he prepares for games and practices, you always take advantage of being around guys like that.”

Panthers coach Mike Nolan, who most notably led the San Francisco 49ers from 2005 to 2008, has praised the 30-year-old Nacua’s leadership in lifting his squad's defense.

Michigan will certainly need both Nacua and White along with everyone else on the roster to be at their best against Birmingham, which has dominated the league and specifically tormented the Panthers.

The Stallions have won three consecutive spring football championships — in the USFL in 2022 and 2023 before prevailing in the XFL- and USFL-merged UFL last season — and gone 7-0 against the Panthers in the process.

That includes an ouster in last year’s Conference Championship game and a 26-22 regular-season victory two weeks ago where the Panthers held a two-touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter.

“We’ve had trouble with them in the past, so we’re just trying to get over that hump and make sure we get in the championship,” White said. “Right now, I think we’re doing great things.”

White caught on for a second training camp with the Chicago Bears after last year’s UFL season and played throughout the preseason but did not make the regular-season roster.

He’s hoping to get another NFL shot this summer but, unlike some of his UFL peers, that’s not the primary motivator driving him through the season. Simply being able to play football is enough for White.

“It’s just kind of taking advantage of where your feet are at right now and not worrying about the future,” White said. “Especially with me being older, whatever comes to me, comes to me. If it doesn’t come, I won’t be too mad about it.”

White will likely spend some time preparing for his next venture on the field in Las Vegas after the UFL season ends. Even though he grew up in California’s Bay Area, Southern Nevada now feels just as much like home after spending six years here between UNLV and the Raiders.

White has attended 10 UNLV football games since he graduated and remains close with people inside the program, namely Athletic Director Erick Harper and Associate Athletic Director David Wedley.  

“I always stay in touch,” White said. “That’s one of my favorite things to do, watch them play in Allegiant Stadium.”

Despite their local connection, White and Nacua didn’t cross paths until 2021 with the New York Jets. They were both signed to New York’s roster off practice squads — Nacua was with the 49ers and White with the Raiders — within a week of each other late in the season.

They hit it off, becoming fast friends and developing a chemistry that has helped the Panthers over the last two years.

“I consider him one of my big brothers,” White said of Nacua. “It’s an honor being able to play with him and be around him. He’s a great guy — his mannerisms, how he carries himself and how he cares about his family.”

Kai Nacua’s younger brother, Samson Nacua, is a receiver with the Panthers. Samson was born in Las Vegas and grew up here when he was younger before moving to Utah once Kai committed to playing at BYU, where Samson later followed.

The duo garnered a lot of attention in the team’s first win of the year by scoring consecutive touchdowns against the Memphis Showboats.

Kai returned an interception 80 yards to seal the victory in the fourth quarter.   

“Guys are out here, we’re trying to give it everything we’ve got,” Kai said in a sideline interview as part of the game broadcast. “When it’s my turn to make a play, I’ve got to make that play.”

That’s a philosophy the Nacua brothers and White honed in Las Vegas, and one they’re lucky to continue putting into practice so many years later.

“Football is the one thing I’ve always loved in my life,” White said. “I’ve always been told to play as long as possible because once you hang it up, you can’t come back.”