Friday night was the second week of high school football in the state of North Carolina with all nine of the Tar Heels' in-state commitments in action. Those nine weren’t the only commits playing in the state, though, as 2024 4✮ S TyShun White and nationally ranked Buford played in Charlotte against former state power Mallard Creek. Buford got all they could handle, surviving 10-7, and White had himself a pretty solid night in the process.
On the defensive side of the football, his stats won’t blow you away but his presence on the field was impactful. He finished the night with two total tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted) and was targeted just once in coverage, but when he wasn’t on the field, Mallard Creek was able to produce two of their three longest plays of the game.
His solo tackle was a great representation of what we saw from him in his junior film. He did a great job of recognizing the swing play to the running back and used his closing speed to track him down and make a strong tackle in space.
In coverage, he was challenged just once, a deep pass that was intercepted by one of his teammates. If his teammate wasn’t there to cut across and intercept the ball, White had put himself in position to make a play on the football and prevent a completion that would have put Mallard Creek in the red zone with a chance to regain the lead in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, White caught three of his five targets for 25 yards and a fumble. His first catch of the night was impressive, though, as he climbed the ladder on a ball that was overthrown by his quarterback and made a tremendous grab despite being hit hard on his way to the ground. The hope is that ball skills like that can transfer to the defensive side of the ball at Carolina.
While this is far from the most dominant performance that we will see this season in our trips to see the commits in this Tar Heel recruiting class, he did show a lot of the things that the staff sees in him. He is more than willing to help in the run game when teams want to run the football and he is best when playing downhill. He has very fluid hips in coverage that allows him to open up quickly and his speed makes it hard for him to get beat deep and recover if he does. There is a lot to like about what White brings to this class and what he could do for the Tar Heels at the safety position when he arrives next year.
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