West Virginia quarterback Patrick White yesterday expressed regret for any "distractions" he caused with 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 yesterday 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 during 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 black players who have played for Van Zant in his 14 years as head coach at West Virginia, where he has coached the team 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 was a result of such a conversation.

NOTE -- University officials confirmed last night that the University of Michigan paid the $2.5 million first installment of the $4 million buyout settlement in the lawsuit between WVU and former football coach Rich Rodriguez, who must pay the remaining amount over three years.