Trip White Confident He Will Emerge as ‘One of the Guys’ for Cowboy Defense in 2026

STILLWATER — Linebacker Trip White spent a lot of time on the sidelines during the first three years of his career at Ole Miss.

Initially, the move to Stillwater didn’t seem to be the breakout he was hoping for when he transferred. White played four total defensive snaps in the first two games.

He averaged 29 snaps per game the rest of the season. It sounds like he expects to have an even bigger role under the new regime.

“It’s been great,” White said of transitioning with the new staff. “I think that I’m going to be one of the guys this year. It’s a blessing always. The team love me, the defense love me, the coaches love me. They’ve been showing their love, and as of right now, it is pretty good for me, you know what I mean.”

White finished the year ninth in defensive snaps for the Cowboys with 294. Pro Football Focus graded him out 69.5 overall, the eighth-best mark on the team.

He kept it simple when asked why he chose to remain in Stillwater when the portal opened.

“I mean, I really love the OSU culture,” White said. “I want to see us win, and I know it is going to be this season.”

White only played 72 defensive snaps during his three seasons at Ole Miss under two different groups of defensive coordinators, making this his fourth time hitting the reset button on a defense.

“The (new) defense, I actually fit well in,” White said. “It is similar to the defense at Ole Miss that I played in, that style. I kind of transition, position into it pretty good even though last year I had to be in like two or three different defenses, the packages and stuff that I was in. This year, the defense I feel pretty good in it.”

White said learning multiple defenses, especially the similar one at Ole Miss, helped him pick things up this spring. Tight end coach Drew Svoboda had a similar message last week regarding the value of how players with multiple offenses pick up new ones even faster.

Still, given White’s relative inexperience on the field, his outspoken confidence in earning playing time under his new coaches seems rather bold at first glance. However, it lines up with his involvement during recent practices. On March 24th, the same day White spoke to the media, the linebackers split into two lines. White ran with the second group behind only UNT transfer Ethan Wesloski and Arizona State transfer Tate Romney.

That suggests he could be among the top four, perhaps even the top three, guys expected to see time at various linebacker positions. For all intents and purposes, Wesloski should be viewed as a returning starter and the undisputed top option. That’s important to know because on the very first day of spring practice, White took the field alongside Wesloski when the defense ran 7-on-7 type drills.

Here is how White described the room right now.

“It is pretty competitive, and everyone loves to compete,” he said. “There is no bad blood, no guys jealous, everybody has come in with a good attitude and just want to compete and make the defense better. We’re all doing our thing, just trying to impress coach, and get him to trust us.”

His new position coach, Reggie Johnson, didn’t meet White until after he decided to stick around and play for Eric Morris. Johnson said it was obvious that White really bought into Morris’ initial message.

It would seem that went both ways, considering how many players left in the portal, with many of them likely doing so under guidance from Morris and the incoming coaches. Johnson didn’t get too specific when describing how White has impressed him this spring, but it’s likely White’s abilities against the run stood out, considering PFF graded him second among OSU defenders last season with a run-defense grade of 80.8.

“He’s a good-looking rascal, man,” Johnson said. “He’s long, he’s athletic, and he has a lot of ability. So it is my job to get his butt coached up, and so Trip has been good, and he’s competing, which they all are.

“But again, I think Trip is committed to Oklahoma State. He has been, and again, it has been a pleasure working with him as well. So we still, with the whole group, we still have a long way to go. I’m glad we don’t play for another few months, man. But the group, it’s a good group of guys.”