Squirrel White Looking To Make a Statement In Week One

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton III showed he could get the ball to wide receiver Squirrel White. Could this be a major factor in week one against Virginia?

Squirrel White is a 5-foot-11-inch tall wide receiver from Birmingham, Alabama. He is a fast and agile target who often plays out of the slot for head coach Josh Heupel's offense. In his freshman year, White saw 431 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage. A more impressive stat was his 16-yard average per reception. The small, agile target could get deep into the opposing secondary for more yards on pass plays.

Two games where this deeper ball prowess came into the light were against Tennessee Martin and in the Orange Bowl against Clemson. He had 100+ yards in both games, with a touchdown in each. Against the UT Martin Skyhawks, he had a 24-yard average per catch. Now beginning his sophomore year with a Nashville battle against Virginia, can White repeat the same sort of deep ball formula against the Cavs?

If you look at Virginia's pass defense from a season ago, they ranked very well in the ACC in passing yards allowed (4th overall) and gave up the fewest passing touchdowns in the ACC last season. However, this season, the Cavs have just one senior on the secondary, cornerback Coen King. The secondary for the Wahoo also includes two graduate transfers, Sam Westfall (SMU) and Malcolm Greene (Clemson), playing the other corner spot. This uncertainty in the secondary may lead to Tennessee's passing attack taking advantage at certain points. And with quarterback Joe Milton liking to throw it deep, White may be down there to catch some of these throws.

Overall, White is in a position to have a great year with some of Tennessee's top targets from last season leaving for the draft. He showed his deep ball ability back during freshman year, and with an unproven Virginia secondary, he may put that on display in week one in Nashville. 

Tennessee Volunteers WR Squirrel White during spring practice on March 20, 2023, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Brianna Paciorka of the News Sentinel)

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