FSU football: 🐿️ White Commits!
The former Tennessee wide receiver elects to spend his final year of collegiate eligibility in Tallahassee.
It has been clear this offseason that Florida State was going to complete flip their wide receiver room. As Florida State fans saw, the wide receivers struggled in pretty much every facet of the position. Their performance this past season had to make Coach Norvell, himself a former collegiate wide receiver, absolutely sick. Florida State took another step towards fixing the wide receiver room with the commitment of former Tennessee wide receiver Marquarius “Squirrel” White.
What do Florida State fans need to know about the 5’10 165 pound Birmingham, Alabama product? Speed, speed, and more speed. White ran track in high school, and won a state championship as a member of the 4x100 team for Clay-Chalkville. He also finished second in the Alabama state track meet in the 100-meter dash.
However, it would not be accurate to say that Squirrel White is a track guy playing football. White has also shown serious potential as a receiver. He debuted in 2022 as a true freshman with 30 catches for 481 yards and two touchdowns. White also earned a 78.1 PFF grade with a 79 receiving grade.
His sophomore season could truly be described as a breakout effort. White caught 67 passes for 803 yards and two touchdowns for the 2023 season at Tennessee. He also earned an overall 68.9 PFF grade for his efforts that season.
Unfortunately, this past season was a regression of sorts for Squirrel White. He caught 34 passes for 381 yards and two scores, but his overall PFF grade dropped to 62.2. In my research for this piece, I learned that White was playing hurt for much of the season. I also noticed from my watching of Tennessee’s games that their offensive line really struggled to protect the quarterback. As Florida State fans well know, offensive line struggles bring down a whole offense.
This offseason, Florida State has placed an emphasis on recruiting big-bodied receivers who have the ability to make contested catches. That effort has been extremely fruitful so far. I also believe that Florida state can benefit from having a home run threat in the receiver room.
I believe Florida State has not had that type of receiver since Pokey Wilson. I thought Malik Benson could be that guy, but unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Fortunately, for Florida State fans, Squirrel White has shown that ability in spades at Tennessee.
In my review of his tape, I did not see a one-trick pony. I saw a player whose speed was used in downfield passing situation, screen plays, and plays that functioned like designed runs. I even saw a player that despite his size was willing to fight for the ball in contested catch situations.
This is a good take for Florida State and they have continued to make progress fixing the receiver room. If Squirrel White can stay healthy, this a player that can help an offense make a dramatic improvement.
Go Noles!