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Goal No. 8: ENTHUSIASM.

#8 Brandon White

Redshirt Senior* | 5-7 | 168 lbs. | Cincinnati, Ohio

• Position: Wide Receiver
• Previous Colleges: University of Kentucky; University of Hawai’i
• Projection: Starter (Punt Returner) / Co-Starter (Wide Receiver)
• Remaining Eligibility: 1 year
• Status: On Scholarship

Brandon “B-White”White (b. Jan. 12, 2004) is a dynamic slot receiver and punt returner who transferred from Hawai’i and is majoring in integrative human sciences. He is battling with Izaiah Williams for the third wide receiver (slot) position.

As D. Scott Fritchen put it this month in this excellent profile piece, “White is one of the guys that everybody is talking about,” including The Wichita Eagle, The Manhattan Mercury and The Topeka Capital-Journal.

“The thing with Brandon,” said K-State head coach Collin Klein, “is understanding that he’s extremely motivated:”

He’s worked extremely hard. Watching how he’s gotten his body in shape, and how hard he’s worked on our offense and playbook to be able to be the weapon that he wants to be, is a credit to him. He’s got very, very good twitch, change direction, and top end (speed), and that’s even improved since he’s gotten here. He’s putting it to use.

Quarterback Avery Johnson also raved about White earlier this month:

He’s just so elusive with the ball in his hands. He’s the type of guy where you get it to him and he can take a 5-yard gain and turn it into 50. Being able to have a YAC guy who’s as explosive and elusive as he is with the ball in his hands, and really be a really good route runner and take the top off the defense, is going to (be) really big. Something special to watch this year.

Prior to his year in the Aloha State, White began his collegiate career at Kentucky, where he redshirted* in 2022 and did not see any game action.

As a redshirt freshman in 2023, he played in just four games, seeing time against Eastern Kentucky, Akron, Georgia and Alabama.

In 2024, White only saw time against Ohio and Murray State, the latter game in which he returned a kickoff 19 yards. He also played alongside current K-State defensive tackle Austin Ramsey in Lexington.

Seeking more playing time, White transferred to play for the Warriors last season, appearing in 12 games with four starts and totaling 38 receptions for 399 yards and two touchdowns, while he rushed four times for 36 yards and returned a kickoff 21 yards.

In all, he saw time on 472 total offensive snaps and tallied multiple receptions in 11 of his 12 games played, plus he had six receptions of 20 or more yards and three catches of at least 30 yards.

White posted a career-high seven catches — including a touchdown — and totaled 50 yards at Air Force; came back with a career-high 63 yards on just three catches against Utah State, including a career-long catch of 46 yards; backed that up with a 45-yard reception at San José State, part of a five-catch day; and registered a 17-yard touchdown catch against California in the Hawai’i Bowl.

He probably has been held back because of his small stature, something that won’t be an issue at K-State:

It’s been a motivator for a long time. It’s always been like that. You get told a lot of times you’re too small, too short, but you use it as motivation and continue to work with your head down.

White prepped under head coach Mark Elder at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, where he was regarded as the 27th-best overall prospect in the state of Ohio by ESPN.

White caught four passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the opener of his senior year, but missed a majority of the season because of injury.

He returned before the end of the season to help the Fighting Crusaders to an 11-4 record, the regional championship and the semifinals of the state playoffs.

White also excelled on the track, running a personal-best 10.30 in the 100-meter dash, and he broke the indoor state meet’s 60-meter-dash record with a time of 6.73. (See, he’s a natural punt returner!)

White originally chose Kentucky over scholarship offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Marshall and West Virginia, as well as recruiting interest from Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin.

His mother, Jeanita Cummings, played women’s basketball at Mississippi State, while his dad, Ben White, was a running back at Mississippi State.

*K-State has recently announced a new classification scheme that designates players by their year of eligibility regardless of whether they have “redshirted,” a term that will go out of use with the new “5-for-5” rule. Thus, the KSU SID lists White as a “fifth year” even though he did not play in 2022. For the sake of consistency with past posts, I will continue to designate redshirts based on their playing history, but also note their remaining eligibility to stay consistent with the new designations as well.

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