Squirrel White is an electrifying freshman wide receiver for Tennessee football.
When he arrived as an early enrollee in January 2022, he was identified as Marquarius “Squirrel” White. When preseason practice started, he was listed only as Squirrel White on the roster.
Here are three things to know about the Vols freshman with a fun nickname.
Squirrel got his nickname as a baby
If you assumed the “Squirrel” nickname was tied to White’s size and twitchy motions on the football field, you’re wrong. He actually got it as a baby when his great-grandmother noticed him mimicking the movements of a squirrel.
“When she was holding me, there was a squirrel in her garden,” White said. “It picked her tomato. And when the squirrel moved, I moved at the same time. So she started calling me (Squirrel).”
Squirrel is small but fast
Even by coincidence, he lives up to his nickname because he’s little but quick.
White is only 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. He said he’d like to gain strength and a few more pounds in the offseason, but not if it hurts his speed.
White is one of the fastest players on the team. He said he was clocked at 23.6 mph on the GPS tracker that players wear, which would rival the fastest players in the NFL.
Georgia, Auburn tried to poach him
White, a three-star recruit by 247Sports Composite, is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. He led Clay-Chalkville High to a 15-0 record and Class 6A Alabama state title as a senior in 2021.
White committed to UT on July 8, 2021, before his senior season. But Georgia and Auburn tried to lure him away just before he signed with the Vols in December.
Reach Adam Sparks at [email protected] and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
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