Ohio State safety Brendon White enters NCAA transfer portal

Aside from the ludicrous situation involving Chase Young and the normal injuries that befall a football team during the course of the season, the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes might be experiencing their first real setback of the 2019 season as Bill Landis from The Athletic tweeted on Friday afternoon that junior safety Brendon White had entered the NCAA transfer portal.

White came on hot in the second half of his sophomore season, providing an infusion of talent, speed, and strength in an otherwise porous defense, and with the introduction of Greg Mattison and Jeff Hafley’s new defense, many assumed that he would take the step to be an invaluable part of the OSU secondary in 2019.

The presumption was that White would fill the newly created “bullet” position, similar to what Mattison had coached at Michigan in the “viper.” However, if that position was ever actually employed by the Buckeyes this season, it was with starting linebacker Pete Werner instead of White, who had moved from safety to the hybrid position exclusively in the offseason.

This fall, White only has 19 tackles (down from 46 in 2018). Last season, he finished fifth on the team in tackles and was the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP following the 28-23 victory over the Washington Huskies. However, after playing sparingly this season for reasons that have yet to be fully explained by the OSU coaching and did not travel with the team to the Big Ten Championship game last weekend.

White was a four-star prospect coming out of Olentangy Liberty High School in the 2017 recruiting class, and was the second-rate player in the state of Ohio, and the third-ranked athlete nationally. Brendon White is the son of former Ohio State and NFL star cornerback William White, who is currently battling ALS.