Safety Brendon White has entered his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The-Ozone has confirmed that the junior from Powell, Ohio is now in the portal.
White was a backup to start the 2018 season, but emerged as a standout safety in the middle of that season.
He first got a chance for significant playing time when Jordan Fuller was ejected for targeting against Nebraska. He recorded a career-high 13 tackles in that game.
From there, he seized a regular role, and was named the Defensive MVP in the 2019 Rose Bowl.
He finished the season with 46 tackles, including four tackles-for-loss, two pass break-ups, and an interception.
This year, White was projected to fill the new “Bullet” position in the Buckeyes’ revamped defensive scheme.
However, he never managed to get on the field regularly.
SAM linebacker Pete Werner put together a strong season and took a lot of the snaps that were projected to go to White.
White played just three snaps in the regular season finale against Michigan, and then did not make the trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
OSU head coach Ryan Day said Sunday that White did not travel for “personal reasons.”
White was recruited as an athlete and never really found a permanent home. He started his OSU career as a linebacker, before moving to wide receiver, and then back to safety, and finally the Bullet position.
The son of former OSU safety William White, the Whites became the second father-son duo in OSU history to start a Rose Bowl game.
Howard and Craig Cassady were the others.
It’s now cemented in history! The 2019 #RoseBowl Game plaque has been installed at the @RoseBowlStadium Court of Champions! @OhioStateFB @UW_Football pic.twitter.com/4qGcN9sZcW
— Rose Bowl Game (@rosebowlgame) March 1, 2019
But just as White’s Buckeye career took a meteoric rise from backup to Rose Bowl MVP in the span of two months, he quickly fell off the map this fall.
He is the second starting safety from the 2018 team to transfer this fall, following Isaiah Pryor, who is headed to Notre Dame.
White is a true junior, and will have one year of eligibility remaining at the school to which he transfers.
There is no official word yet on whether he will play in the Fiesta Bowl.