LenDale White: Reaching for the Super Bowl Shot, Not the Patron Shot

CANTON, Ohio -- Tennessee Titans running back LenDale White got into the end zone in Sunday night's Hall of Fame NFL exhibition opener, allowing him to showcase on national television a trimmer, faster physique that is at least 30 pounds lighter.

A pudgy White still managed to score 15 rushing touchdowns for Tennessee in 2008 as the team's go-to guy in short-yardage situations. In the Titans' 21-18 preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills at Canton's Fawcett Stadium, White showed tremendous burst on a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter (pictured right).

Afterward, the fourth-year back wanted to set the record straight about the now-legendary "Patron Diet" he utiilized to shed that unwanted baby fat.

White says he still has a drink now and then. But he much prefers the LenDale who is reaching for a Super Bowl title now, rather than the player who was reaching more for a shot at the club.

"I like the LenDale that doesn't drink. Hopefully we can keep it that way," White, 24, said. "I do drink occasionally. If I ever do win a Super Bowl, I will drink them bottles right up. But right now, we're gonna hold off on that and try to win the Super Bowl."

As FanHouse reported last week, White's decision to put down the Patron bottle for six months in the offseason -- along with implementing the less glamorous tactics of watching what he ate and exercising more -- transformed a large but effective back into what could be a trimmer and more explosive game-breaker. He's down to about 238 pounds now, after getting close to offensive lineman size at 268.

Here's what White said earlier this month about his diet plan, which may be forcing tequila marketing executives to formulate a "Patron Light."

"I was a big Patron consumer. ... That's what it was. I was drinking a lot, drank a lot of alcohol. I cut that out of my diet all the way. I don't drink at all. I cut the drinking, I stopped drinking for six months."

The line about waving off tequila shots at the clubs was pretty darn funny, even if the jokes about it came at White's expense.

"I thought that Patron line was hilarious, too," White said Sunday with a huge laugh, "but you know what it is? Somebody always finds a way to make it in a negative.

"I still haven't seen the article out there that says 'LenDale gave up the booze for his career to be longer.' I haven't seen that article. All I've seen is the Patron references. But if you ask 100 percent of the staff in the NFL if they're drinking, maybe 95 percent of them will tell you they do."

Did White quit drinking completely? "I still drink very, very occasionally. I really don't like drinking. The extra weight ... it turns me into a different person. You don't really see all of the effects until you stop for awhile.

"I dropped a lot and a lot of people were expecting my power to go away with the weight loss, but I think it's actually kind of helped me with my power and my speed."