Southern Miss football just offered a Coast linebacker who can flat out fly

The Southern Miss football staff has offered a scholarship to a Coast linebacker who runs better than some of the wide receivers already on the team’s roster.

East Central senior linebacker Avery White announced Wednesday morning that he has received his first FBS scholarship offer from the Golden Eagles.

“It feels good,” he said Wednesday. “That’s a little weight off my chest.”

White is a little on the slim side at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, but his combination of physical play and speed also has drawn the interest of Mississippi State and South Alabama.

White recently ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds during workouts at East Central and checked in at 4.53 seconds during a camp at Southern Miss.

USM co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Derek Nicholson heaped praise on White during the camp.

“He told me I set the bar for the linebackers he wants,” White said. “He said he likes my length and the speed that I have. He told me my film doesn’t lie.”

White was a dominant force on the East Central defense as a junior with 202 tackles, including 35 for negative yardage. He also added three interceptions on his way to a Sun Herald All-South Mississippi selection.

He covers plenty of ground at linebacker and can deliver a vicious lick when he gets to the ball carrier.

USM head coach Jay Hopson told White last week that they were planning to offer him a scholarship and tight ends coach Brock Hayes followed through Tuesday night.

White is high on Southern Miss, but he plans to take a little time before he decides whether he’s ready to commit.

“I’m not 100 percent sure,” he said. “I’ll let it play out a little longer and see where it goes from there. I wouldn’t mind going there. They have a great atmosphere.”

South Alabama and MSU also have kept in contact with White.

White is a left-handed pitcher for the East Central baseball team with a fastball that topped out at 86-87 miles an hour. He was 2-1 with a 1.98 ERA in six appearances this season.

He said that coaches at USM haven’t talked with him about the prospect of playing baseball and football, but he hopes to have that discussion if he does end up on the Hattiesburg campus.

This story was originally published August 1, 2018 at 1:08 PM.