Imhotep Charter Standout Enai White Transfers to Penn State

Enai White, a standout EDGE at Philadelphia’s Imhotep Charter who graduated in the class of 2022, is coming home to the Keystone State.

White, a consensus four-star recruit who 247Sports ranked No. 38 overall in his graduating class, stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 240 pounds. He spent three years with Texas A&M, earning time as a rotational pass rusher before tearing an ACL in October 2023. White’s rehab stretched into this past season, and he got frozen out of the Aggies’ lineup as a result, taking just nine snaps (per Pro Football Focus) in an eventual redshirt year.

Getting Back on Track

White, who retains two years of eligibility, now heads to Penn State via the transfer portal. What went into his decision? His relationship with Nittany Lions defensive line coach Deion Barnes, a Philadelphia native who attended Northeast High School and spent parts of two seasons in the NFL. Barnes spent time as a graduate assistant with Penn State following his playing career, also training up-and-coming prospects like White in his spare time.

“I knew coach Deion before he got the job at Penn State,” White told 247Sports after his official visit to PSU this weekend. “He used to train me. He grew up not too far from where I grew up.”

As White looks to revitalize his college career, he also thinks that the Nittany Lions’ defensive scheme will better fit his play style.

“The way they play their defensive ends (stood out),” he told 247. “They play vertical, up the field. That kind of fits the way I play the game. The belief that coach Deion had in me, I am in the transfer portal, I am coming off an injury, but he still believes in what I can do, so that plays a big role in what I have going on right now.”

White has athletic ability to spare, playing basketball and also doubling as a tight end during his time with Imhotep Charter, who he helped lead to the 2021 PIAA State Championship game. Collaborating with Barnes, who has helped turn the Nittany Lions’ defensive line into one of the best units in the country in recent years, could help White unlock his potential.

A version of this story first appeared on our sister site, Nittany Sports Now.