Sometimes familiarity breeds comfort. It did for Imhotep Charter star Enai White on Wednesday, when the 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior defensive end, considered by many recruiting experts as the best edge rusher in the nation, chose to attend Texas A&M over Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State.
White said the feel of the College Station, Texas, campus and Aggies’ program made him feel like home, despite being over 1,500 miles away.
White made his announcement at Imhotep during the national early signing period.
“A lot of people had an idea that it was going to be Texas A&M, but they don’t know why, and the reason why is the culture there reminds me of Imhotep,” White said. “It’s a real family-oriented culture and team, and there are guys you can depend on, and they’re all from Philly.
“There’s coach Elijah (Robinson, A&M’s vaunted defensive line coach who’s from Camden), and there is Tyreek (Chappell, the Aggies’ starting corner out of Northeast High), and Elijah Jeudy (the Aggies’ freshman defensive end of Northeast). That helped, guys I knew and guys I went to war against. All of the programs are good programs, but the family culture is what really stood out to me.”
Alabama was his second choice.
Texas A&M currently is 8-4 overall and sits at No. 25 in the College Football Rankings and No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Aggies handed No. 1-ranked Alabama its only loss this season and are slated to play Wake Forest on December 31 in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl.
Texas A&M is expected to have one of the best incoming recruiting classes in the nation, according to many national recruiting services, battling for the top spot with their fellow SEC rivals Alabama and Georgia.
The addition of White, who’s projected to be a stand-up edge rusher who’s capable of rolling back and playing in space, tops the list.
“It came down to leaving a legacy, and if I went to Alabama, to me, that was like the easy route,” White said. “Going to Alabama is something that everyone would have expected me to do. I want to leave a legacy of my own. I want to do something different. With the recruiting class we have coming in, we have a chance to beat ’Bama, but we want more.
“With the guys, we have coming in, I want more. We want more than just to beat ’Bama, I’m going there to win it all.”
White will be joined at A&M along with 6-3, 280-pound defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Lakeland, FL), 6-foot, 190-pound safety Bryce Anderson (Beaumont, TX), 6-6, 230-pound defensive lineman Malick Sylla (Katy, TX), and 6-1, 180-pound cornerback Bobby Taylor Jr. (Katy, TX), the son of former Notre Dame star and Philadelphia Eagle Bobby Taylor.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
