VASJ sophomore D’Angelo White picks up an offer from Ohio State football

It’s not often that an athlete gets a full-ride football scholarship from his dream school before playing his first down of varsity football.

D’Angelo White is one of the rare exceptions.

A 6-foot-5, 221-pound rising sophomore at Villa Angela-St. Joseph, White picked up an offer from Ohio State recently. In two months, he said he will earn his first varsity playing time, yet he has already gained an offer from the school he’s grown up watching.

Coach Ryan Day’s Buckeyes.

“This has always been my dream school,” White said. “This one means a lot.”

White used the words “this one” regarding his college offers because Ohio State isn’t the first to offer him a scholarship. In fact, 11 others offered White a scholarship before Ohio State did.

Not bad for a kid who has yet to play his first varsity down.

“I was Ohio State for a camp and I got a chance to talk with (tight ends) coach Keenan Bailey, and he offered me a chance to come play at Ohio State,” White said. “Coach Day said he was going to do it, but Coach Bailey said he wanted to get to me first. … I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I had a goal to someday get an offer from Ohio State, so when I did, it felt so good.”

Other schools that have offered include Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Kent State, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Purdue and West Virginia. Kentucky was the first school to offer White a scholarship back when he was in eighth grade.

“D’Angelo earned an SEC offer as an eighth-grader. That says it all,” said VASJ coach Jeff Rotsky of the Kentucky offer. “The greatest thing about D’Angelo is the WANTS to be great. He works so hard. When he’s at his peak and playing fast. there’s no stopping him.”

White is the latest VASJ football player to get headlines with college news. All-Ohio running back Bo Jackson has committed to Ohio State, receiver/tight end Brian Kortovich has committed to Purdue, and offensive lineman Robert Smith has committed to Boston College.

Rotsky said White’s emergence this season will benefit VASJ’s offense greatly. With he and Kortovich at tight end and/or receiver, Jackson in the backfield and others — such as speedy Christian Chase — on the field, VASJ could be difficult to defend.

“In our one-back sets, (Kortovich and White) will be playing in 12-personnel,” Rotsky said of the two-tight end sets. “With Bo in the backfield and other talented backs we have, we’ve got a chance.

“We’re blessed with the group we have here at VASJ. The kids work so hard. Nobody takes anything for granted. They genuinely like playing football with each other.”

White said he has no plans on resting on the laurels of having so many college offers. He’s been a mainstay in the VASJ weight room, with personal bests of 280 pounds in the bench press and 435 pounds in the squat rack while running a 4.7 in the 40.

“I think my strengths are I can do both, catch passes or block,” he said.

He is in no hurry to make a choice on his college future. After all, he has three years of varsity ball yet in front of him. For that matter, he has his first varsity down yet in front of him.

“This Ohio State offer has given me even more energy,” White said. “I can’t wait for this season. I’ve got our playbook down. I’m ready for everything this year.”