Edge Transfer Marques White Talks UMass Commitment
Former Dartmouth and McNeese edge defender Marques White explains why he's so excited to be headed to Amherst.
Marques White had a couple connections to the football program at UMass, which led the former Dartmouth and McNeese edge rusher to landing an offer from the Minutemen, visiting Amherst and ultimately committing within a matter of days.
White played for current UMass assistant Joe Castellitto at Dartmouth and with current UMass long snapper Jovoni Borbon at McNeese State.
“I just randomly hit up Coach Joe Cas,” White explained. “I hit him up and I was like, 'I'm still in the portal. I was wondering if you guys are still looking for an edge rusher?'
“He was like, 'Actually we are.' He showed the film to the coaches and the rest was history. The coaches loved it. They were like, 'Yeah, we love this guy's film,' and they brought me up.”
He landed the offer last Tuesday and made the trip to Amherst this past weekend.
“It was an awesome visit; great experience,” he said. “Me and my parents made it up.
“Jovoni was my host. We are best friends from last year. We went to McNeese together. He showed me around the nightlife. As far as facilities and football and meeting rooms and stuff like that, I got to see the whole deal and it was awesome.”
White was impressed with head coach Joe Harasymiak and the entire Minutemen staff.
“Coach H is awesome,” he said. “I got to talk to him. He's a great dude, great values. You can tell that this program's moving into the right direction and I'm here for it.
“You can name off any of the coaches that I've met and I'll just say the same thing. It would be rinse and repeat. Like my parents said when we were leaving, the whole experience there felt like the first time I went up to visit Dartmouth. You can feel that family feel. You can feel something special.”
The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder from Arizona was a two-time Second Team All-Ivy League performer at Dartmouth, but had his 2022 season shortened because of injuries while he missed the entire 2020 season when the Ivy League cancelled because of Covid.
He finished last season at McNeese with 52 tackles, including 6.5 behind the line of scrimmage and 3.5 sacks. White plans to bring a relentless attitude to pursuing the passer to Amherst.
“I'm just going to be a consistent guy who comes in, gets his work done and is going to be there for my teammates and my coaches,” he said. “Somebody who's responsible and you can count on.
“And for sure sacking the quarterback. It's going to be a long season for opposing teams. It's going to be a fun year.”
But for now, he’s just happy he found a home.
“It's a weight lifted off my shoulders, especially with how this portal is. It's crazy. I entered in December right after the season, got a couple calls, but never got any offers, so I was just stuck home, just working out, not knowing what the future was. It was definitely taxing mentally, just not knowing what is going to be in front of you. Nothing's guaranteed.
“It just feels great; great program, great coaching staff, great teammates. It's just a blessing for sure. I'm excited to be up there.”
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