[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald Photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]There are always those moments in life that put things in perspective.

There's been no better reminder of that than the recent catastrophes brought on by this year's hurricane season. Hurricanes Katrina — and now Rita — have etched horrendous pictures into the minds of people around the nation.

Even in the sports world, the effects can be felt. The New Orleans Saints, often a fringe playoff team with no big name stars (though Joe Horn can be outlandish at times), have become sentimental favorites every game. The Tulane athletic programs, much like their professional brethren, are receiving support wherever they go, even from opposing fans and coaches.

It's hard to live through these natural disasters, but it's no easier when you're on the outside, safe, waiting to hear from your family. That's exactly what junior strong safety Johnny White has endured these past few weeks.

Originally from Pearland, Texas, White's home lies just a few miles from the Gulf coast between Houston and the Gulf of Mexico, directly in the path of Hurricane Rita.

While Rita didn't ravage the Houston area as horribly as was first predicted, White was left without any knowledge of the whereabouts of his parents, who were originally supposed to head to Madison to watch Saturday's match-up with Michigan.

But with flights out of Houston cancelled because of Rita, White's parents, Johnny Sr. and Beverly, were forced to flee to Louisiana all the while trying, in vain, to reach their son. White finally heard from his parents early Saturday morning, lifting a huge weight off his shoulders.

"It makes life different; you look at life a little differently when stuff like that happens. It means a little bit more to you," White said Monday afternoon at the team's weekly press conference.

Not that the adversity was anything new for White — just another in a long line of unfortunate circumstances the junior has endured.

While being recruited as a junior at Pearland High School, White was diagnosed with a heart condition — one serious enough that doctors concluded White would never be able to play football again.

The diagnosis turned out to be false, but the damage had been done. White had already missed half of the football season because of the diagnosis and lost nearly all the scholarships he was receiving because of it.

"[T]he main reason I came here is because Wisconsin was the only school that kept the offer there," White said. "They kept telling me everything was going to be OK, and the other schools left.

"[And] right before that, my dad went through some health problems so I've been dealing with that my whole career."

Things haven't exactly gone according to plan for White since coming to UW either. After seeing action as a true freshman, White opened his sophomore campaign as the opening day starter. But by the third game, White was behind senior Robert Brooks, and was forced to wait his turn to regain the starting nod.

This season, White again opened the year as the starter, but again lost the job, this time after missing some assignments against the vaunted Bowling Green passing attack.

"Last year was a little more frustrating because I didn't lose it on the field, I lost by not coming to the meeting on-time. It's something I could've controlled," White said. "And the way everything was happening [against Bowling Green], with the no huddle offense in your first start it can be kind of difficult. I missed some assignments, I wasn't sound in my technique in some areas."

But admirably, White continues to endure. And did that endurance ever pay off Saturday as White forced a pair of turnovers, including a fourth quarter fumble that shifted the momentum in Wisconsin's favor.

"I was just trying to make a tackle, I guess some good luck finally came," White said of the play.

Listening to White discuss the ordeal, it's hard to imagine being able to play a game even with the knowledge that your family was safe. As a man whose family is unendingly important to him, I can't say I would've done the same thing. In fact, I probably would've been on the first plane, bus, car, riverboat, or whatever down to my family.

White endeared himself to Badger fans across the nation for his part in what was one of the greatest wins in Camp Randall history against rival Michigan Saturday night. But Monday afternoon he endeared himself to a whole new group of fans who are awed, not by the way he tackles an opponent, but by his sheer resiliency. Count me as one of them.