DT Marquis White Commits to USF

Just two days before National Signing Day, the St. Pete Times' Joe Smith is reporting that USF has secured the commitment of North Carolina Tech DT Marquis White. The 6'5 297lb Orlando native was a relative newcomer in this recruiting cycle, and after enjoying his visit to Tampa on the January 21st recruiting weekend, he pulled the trigger after visiting Florida A&M this week. If you might think that White is a marginal recruit, please note that White also had offers from North Carolina and Minnesota as well.

Smith was able to get a hold of NC Tech Head Coach Ted Newman to hear what he had to say about White, and he spoke of White's potential and ability,

"This is a natural born athlete, like a freak of nature. He's got great size, he's fast, he's got great instincts. We had to tell him to stop hitting the quarterback in practice one day. They got a quality football player. It looks like that program is going in the right direction, getting guys like Marquis."

This year for NC Tech, White recorded an impressive 38 tackles with 8 of those for a loss. He also recorded 4.5 sacks and deflected 4 passes which is impressive for a Defensive Tackle.

I don't think we get White if someone else was head coach. Holtz still has a lot of connections in North Carolina, and his relationship with Newman and NC Tech, along with White wanting to head back to Florida sealed the deal with his commitment. Marquis does sound like a project, but a wise coach once told me you can't coach size. Plus with guys like Cory Grissom and Keith McCaskill returning at DT, White will have time to develop before being expected to contribute consistently on the defensive line in 2012.