DaShaun White Commits to Texas A&M over Oklahoma, Others

Texas A&M bolstered its linebacker depth chart Sunday as 4-star talent DaShaun White committed to the school via a post on his Twitter account: 

"It came down a lot to the relationships I have built," White later told Greg Powers of Scout.com. "I am already comfortable with a lot of players that are there. Anthony Hines being the most. I am really comfortable with those guys. It comes down to being comfortable going to war with people that are there already."

The Richland Hills, Texas, product is Scout.com's No. 193 overall prospect in the class of 2018 and the No. 15 outside linebacker. Standing 6'1" and weighing 222 pounds, White is the sort of athletic option at the position that is becoming the norm, per Greg Powers of Scout.com:

"White is one of the more physically imposing players in the Dallas area. He is that new age style of coverage linebacker who can combat today's fast-paced offenses. He is above average in coverage and will absolutely lay the wood. He closes on the ball quickly and we like that he is able to save his defense yardage by attacking the zero angle. In addition to good downhill speed, he shows adequate sideline-to-sideline speed. He will need to get bigger and stronger to fend off blockers, but when he is playing free he makes a ton of plays."

White is comfortable playing the new hybrid-safety role that many college and NFL teams are employing.

"I am liking a lot of the Nickel-safety positions which actually plays to my strength, which won't be seen in a lot of my film here because I play middle linebacker," he told Powers. "But I like being in coverage and I like coming downhill and making hits, so anywhere where I can play that outside spot, I feel I can thrive in."

That type of versatility is increasingly important in modern football, where a player like White could be asked to cover athletic tight ends, running backs out of the backfield and even wide receivers on occasion while still be asked to play closer to the line of scrimmage and stuff the run game.

Given his upside as a versatile and athletic defensive weapon, landing White was a major coup for Texas A&M. 

For the Aggies, White immediately becomes the team's top addition at linebacker. He'll also bolster Scout.com's 14th-ranked recruiting class, which is coming together nicely.

That class includes 4-star defensive end Max Wright, 4-star safety Leon O'Neal and 4-star safety Jordan Moore. Suffice to say, the team's defense is getting a nice infusion of young talent.