Three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Big Ten champion running back James White is in his first season as the Illinois football program's assistant running backs coach in 2025. White, who played for Illinois head coach Bret Bielema at Wisconsin, entered the coaching profession following an eight-year NFL playing career with the New England Patriots. 

White starred for Bielema's Wisconsin teams from 2010-13, helping the Badgers to three Big Ten titles and three trips to the Rose Bowl. He was named the 2010 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and ran for 4,015 yards and scored 48 touchdowns during his Wisconsin career, ranking fourth in school history in rushing yards and third in total touchdowns. White ran for over 100 yards on 18 occasions despite sharing the backfield with a loaded Wisconsin running back room throughout his career, including John Clay, Montee Ball, and Melvin Gordon. As a senior in 2013, White combined with Gordon (1,609) to set the FBS single-season record for rushing yards by teammates at 3,053 yards. 

Also a threat in the passing game, White set the Wisconsin record for receiving yards by a running back with 670 for his career. He finished his career ranked No. 4 all-time at Wisconsin with 5,450 all-purpose yards. 

In one of the biggest wins in Wisconsin history, White helped lead the Badgers to a 70-31 win over Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten Championship game by accounting for five touchdowns. He ran for 109 yards and tied a career high with four rushing touchdowns, and also threw a 3-yard touchdown pass in the rout of the Cornhuskers. 

Following a career-high 1,444 rushing yards as a senior, White was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. White played in 95 NFL games and ran for 3,278 yards and scored 25 touchdowns, helping the Patriots to six division titles and three Super Bowl championships. 

One of White's best games of his NFL career came in New England's historic Super Bowl LI win when the Patriots trailed Atlanta, 28-3, and came back to win, 34-28, in overtime. White accounted for 139 total yards, including a Super Bowl-record 14 receptions for 110 receiving yards, and scored three touchdowns. His 1-yard touchdown run with 0:57 left in regulation helped the Patriots tie the game before his 2-yard run in overtime was the game-winner. 

White is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and played high school football at St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the top prep programs in the nation.

Since his retirement from football, White has been an analyst on national radio and television shows on the Big Ten Network and Sirius XM NFL, while also hosting his own podcast, The Money Down Podcast.