With the Miami Hurricanes’ staff still intent on watching film and sending out offers during the shutdowns, one prospect that caught their eye was 2022 4-star DE Enai White from Imhotep Institute (PA). The UM coaches got in touch with the staff at White’s school and let them know he had an offer from the U, and White says the offer has him heavily considering the Canes.
“It’s a blessing for real, they’ve had a lot of NFL greats that have come out of Miami, especially on the defensive side of the ball where I play at,” White said. “I’m not going to lie, I’d be very interested in playing at the U. That’d be a blessing.”
The 6-5 225 pound prospect mentioned that he has a lot of family from the South Florida region, so he is familiar with the Miami area and the UM program in general. Aside from the Hurricanes’ NFL success stories, White is also intrigued by Miami’s defensive success under Manny Diaz.
“I’ve watched the Canes before and watched a couple games last year, but I haven’t really paid attention like I should,” White said. “I know the defense is good. The system that they play in, they play in a defense where I can be free to make plays, so I like that.”
It seems Miami jumped into the mix for White at the perfect time, as the Imhotep Institute star is getting ready to narrow down his options later this month by releasing a top group. Will the Canes make the cut?
“Yeah, for sure. They definitely have a spot I can tell you,” White said of UM.
As one of the top prospects in his entire class, White has been highly pursued by most of the top programs in the country, and he was recently named the #8 overall player nationally and #1 WDE in 2022 by 247Sports.
“The rankings are not important to me, but I appreciate it because it’s a recognition of your hard work,” White said. “But at the end of the day, you still have to play, so it doesn’t matter when you’re between those lines.”
Despite the hoopla, White has taken a measured approach to the recruiting process and says he has leaned on others who were once in the same position he was.
“Early in my recruitment, I reached out to the alumni coming out of Imhotep that were recruited heavy, and they said to be humble and don’t get too big-headed about coaches coming around,” White said. “They just told me to keep my head down and go to work. So that’s just what I try to do, and not let all the other stuff get to me.”
White named Penn State, Tennessee, and South Carolina as those programs that were standing out to him early on, and also spoke about how he is looking to get away from his native Philadelphia for college.
“I spoke with my mom and she wants me to get away, she doesn’t want me to stay close to Philly,” White said. “Just because everyone knows the city isn’t the best place to be, so she just wants me to get away and really get a college experience.”
In early March ahead of all the shutdowns, White was able to make it to Knoxville for Tennessee’s Junior Day event and talked about how that trip went.
“We went to the basketball game, they played Auburn, then we took a tour of the school,” White said. “I liked it a lot, the atmosphere and what they’re about. I talked to the whole coaching staff when I was out there, the head coach and everybody, because that was my one chance to communicate with them in person.”
Currently, White prefers to have a decision in place before his senior season begins so that he can focus on making the most of his final year of high school football.
“I just want to be at a place that I can call home and I want to be at a place where I can play early,” White said of his wants in a college program.
As a sophomore for the Panthers in 2019, White finished with 29 tackles, 6 TFL, and 3 sacks on defense and 4 catches for 31 yards and a TD on offense despite playing in only 9 games due to injury.
“I felt like sophomore year went okay. I got set back sophomore year because I got hurt and missed 4 games, but this next year is going to be crazy,” White said. “My mindset is to do my job and be a dog. If I’m going to make a mistake, I’ll make that mistake going at 110%.”
“It’s a blessing for real, they’ve had a lot of NFL greats that have come out of Miami, especially on the defensive side of the ball where I play at,” White said. “I’m not going to lie, I’d be very interested in playing at the U. That’d be a blessing.”
The 6-5 225 pound prospect mentioned that he has a lot of family from the South Florida region, so he is familiar with the Miami area and the UM program in general. Aside from the Hurricanes’ NFL success stories, White is also intrigued by Miami’s defensive success under Manny Diaz.
“I’ve watched the Canes before and watched a couple games last year, but I haven’t really paid attention like I should,” White said. “I know the defense is good. The system that they play in, they play in a defense where I can be free to make plays, so I like that.”
It seems Miami jumped into the mix for White at the perfect time, as the Imhotep Institute star is getting ready to narrow down his options later this month by releasing a top group. Will the Canes make the cut?
“Yeah, for sure. They definitely have a spot I can tell you,” White said of UM.
As one of the top prospects in his entire class, White has been highly pursued by most of the top programs in the country, and he was recently named the #8 overall player nationally and #1 WDE in 2022 by 247Sports.
“The rankings are not important to me, but I appreciate it because it’s a recognition of your hard work,” White said. “But at the end of the day, you still have to play, so it doesn’t matter when you’re between those lines.”
Despite the hoopla, White has taken a measured approach to the recruiting process and says he has leaned on others who were once in the same position he was.
“Early in my recruitment, I reached out to the alumni coming out of Imhotep that were recruited heavy, and they said to be humble and don’t get too big-headed about coaches coming around,” White said. “They just told me to keep my head down and go to work. So that’s just what I try to do, and not let all the other stuff get to me.”
White named Penn State, Tennessee, and South Carolina as those programs that were standing out to him early on, and also spoke about how he is looking to get away from his native Philadelphia for college.
“I spoke with my mom and she wants me to get away, she doesn’t want me to stay close to Philly,” White said. “Just because everyone knows the city isn’t the best place to be, so she just wants me to get away and really get a college experience.”
In early March ahead of all the shutdowns, White was able to make it to Knoxville for Tennessee’s Junior Day event and talked about how that trip went.
“We went to the basketball game, they played Auburn, then we took a tour of the school,” White said. “I liked it a lot, the atmosphere and what they’re about. I talked to the whole coaching staff when I was out there, the head coach and everybody, because that was my one chance to communicate with them in person.”
Currently, White prefers to have a decision in place before his senior season begins so that he can focus on making the most of his final year of high school football.
“I just want to be at a place that I can call home and I want to be at a place where I can play early,” White said of his wants in a college program.
As a sophomore for the Panthers in 2019, White finished with 29 tackles, 6 TFL, and 3 sacks on defense and 4 catches for 31 yards and a TD on offense despite playing in only 9 games due to injury.
“I felt like sophomore year went okay. I got set back sophomore year because I got hurt and missed 4 games, but this next year is going to be crazy,” White said. “My mindset is to do my job and be a dog. If I’m going to make a mistake, I’ll make that mistake going at 110%.”
