Virginia Tech cornerback Jaquez White warrants a special degree of attention. Understandably so. The 5-foot-11 junior went down during the Hokies' spring game April 18, sparking a quick wave of trepidation, though he posted afterward on social media that he was OK.
White shapes up to be Virginia Tech's top cornerback on the depth chart, and his availability will likely be critical to Virginia Tech getting off on the right foot in Year 1 under head coach James Franklin.
While Franklin brought a lot of former Penn State players and commits with him from State College, a Troy transfer might have the biggest early impact," Conelly wrote. "White picked off three passes, broke up 12 more and even made 3.5 TFLs as a do-everything cover man last season."
White logged 143 tackles in his past three collegiate seasons - one at Troy and two at Division II Washburn. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior was named All-Sun Belt Second Team after a season in which he logged 67 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, three picks and a quarterback hurry. As aforementioned, White is expected to suit up at starting cornerback alongside potentially Joshua Clarke and Isaiah Brown-Murray (nickel). White logged one pass breakup during Tech's spring game.
"He's had a really good spring," said Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Brent Pry after the Hokies' spring game. "He's a kid that reminds me of some of the defensive backs that have played here over the years. Can play corner, he can safety; can play the field; can play in the boundary. He's tough, he tackles, that's how he got hurt there. He covers."
With the Trojans, White ranked third in the nation and seventh nationally with 14 passes defended while placing fourth in the conference and 15th nationally with 11 pass breakups. White also logged a 30-yard pick six against Louisiana and tallied a pick in the Sun Belt title game against James Madison. he also logged seven tackles against Memphis.
White was rated as the No. 13 corner by overall grade on PFF, finishing with an 87.4 overall grade. He also finished No. 21 out of 878 eligible cornerbacks in coverage with an 86.8 grade and No. 21 of 876 eligible cornerbacks in run defense with a 88.2 grade. Though the majority of White's snaps were at wide cornerback - he took 769 of his 879 defensive snaps there - he can also line up in the box or at free safety like Pry mentioned. His malleability offers Virginia Tech a pivotal anchor with which to structure its defensive attack around.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginiatech as 'Do-Everything Cover Man': Virginia Tech's Jaquez White Praised Ahead of 2026 Season .
