Alabama loses recruiting battle to Princeton as four-star QB sticks with Tigers
One of the most intriguing decisions of the 2018 recruiting cycle came to a conclusion on Friday when four-star quarterback Brevin White out of Paraclete High School in Lancaster, California, called up Nick Saban.
White has been committed to Princeton since July 2017, picking the Ivy League program over a host of other Pac-12 and Power Five offers. But an offer from the defending national champions on Jan. 25 called for a recalculation. With an Alabama offer in hand, White took an official visit to Tuscaloosa the following weekend and quickly emerged as the Tide's top priority at the quarterback position late in the process.
After mulling over his options this week, White called Saban on Friday with is decision.
"I just wanted to stick with my heart. I wanted to lay out whats important to me and what school offers me the best opportunity to achieve goals on an off field. Alabama is a great school and a great opportunity, but Princeton checks more boxes," White told CBS Sports.
White plans to major in economics at Princeton and hopes to pursue a career in finance if the NFL doesn't work out. As he's mulled over this decision over the last week, Princeton has put him in touch with some high net worth individuals that have hammered home the value of an Ivy League network in the business world, but the connections don't stop there. White is scheduled to talk to Dallas Cowboys coach and Princeton graduate Jason Garrett later Friday afternoon.
"The overall consensus is Princeton is once in lifetime experience," he said. "Obviously you're going to get a great education, but I figure part of it, too, is the friends that you make are going to last a lifetime. Almost everyone you meet is going to be best friends the rest of your life. You're going to be offered a big variety of things to do with a Princeton alumni network as well."
Alabama will likely turn now to Arizona native Brock Purdy at the quarterback position; it will battle Iowa State, Texas A&M and Illinois for the three-star prospect.
Remarkably, this isn't the first time that Princeton has beaten an SEC program for a quarterback. Back in the Class of 2013, Chad Kanoff signed with Vanderbilt only to back out of his National Letter of Intent after National Signing Day to enroll at Princeton. Kanoff set the Ivy League single season marks this fall in passing yards (3,474) and completion percentage (.732).
White is the younger brother of Brady White, a U.S. Army All-American quarterback that signed with Arizona State out of high school but recently transferred and is immediately eligible to play at Memphis.
According to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rankings, White is the No. 13 ranked pro-style quarterback in the country. He's also a big reason why Princeton is clinging to the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the FCS ranks, according to 247Sports, ranking higher than even FBS schools like UConn, UNLV and Ball State. He threw for more than 3,900 yards and 54 touchdowns during his senior season.