Georgia Tech defensive end Keion White is expected to make his long-awaited debut Saturday against Duke. The grad transfer from Old Dominion was added to the team’s “Above the Line” chart that was released late Thursday.
White was an all-conference selection in Conference USA in 2019 after recording 19 tackles for loss, which tied for 10th in FBS. He had 5.5 of them in games against Virginia and Virginia Tech. White did not play in 2020 as Old Dominion canceled its season because of COVID-19. He had been out from the beginning of the preseason because of injury and did not dress for the Yellow Jackets’ first five games.
White’s ability is such that he is one of three Tech players (safeties Tariq Carpenter and Juanyeh Thomas are the two others) who was named to the Senior Bowl’s preseason watch list despite not having played since 2019. Three other players – Jared Ivey, Josh Robinson and Sylvain Yondjouen – are listed with White at defensive end, which is separate from the rush end grouping of Jordan Domineck, Kevin Harris, Kyle Kennard and Noah Collins.
White was one of several changes to the Above the Line chart, which lists players deemed ready by coaches to contribute in a game. Wide receiver Marquez Ezzard, defensive tackle Ja’Quon Griffin and offensive lineman Nick Pendley were taken off the chart, while safety Jalen Huff was added for the first time this season.
Griffin has been one of Tech’s more productive defensive tackles, although his playing load has declined along with all of the tackles with the defense’s shift to its 3-3-5 alignment, which requires only one defensive tackle instead of the two used in the 4-2-5.
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