West Virginia quarterback Patrick White today expressed regret for any "distractions" he stirred by his comments Tuesday about the West Virginia baseball coach, adding that he "may have overstated" his beliefs concerning the program.

"Thinking back on my recent comments at Big East media day, I believe that I may have overstated my feelings on college baseball and the WVU baseball program," White said in a statement released late this afternoon by the Mountaineers' athletic department. "I have not played collegiate baseball in the past because I have concentrated on football and building on our success with my football family. I am sorry my comments have caused so many distractions. I am looking forward to putting this behind me and getting on the practice field with my teammates on Saturday."

White, drafted three times by Major League Baseball teams in the past four years while no longer playing the game, explained to a reporter Tuesday amid a recorded interview in Newport, R.I., that Mountaineers baseball coach Greg Van Zant has not carried "many players of race on his team. He's not too high on it. Every player I've talked to doesn't like him. He's not a well-liked coach, but I guess he has tenure so they never got rid of him. They're not successful at all."

Without delving into deep research, an athletic department spokesman named at least six African-Americans who played for Van Zant in the coach's 14 years, when he has coached West Virginia to 413 victories but no NCAA tournament berths since 1996.

Athletic Director Ed Pastilong said earlier in the week he intended to discuss the comments with White, though it wasn't immediately determined if White's statement today was a result of such a conversation.