Coach | 2026 Notre Dame WR Target Efrem White A Special Athlete

Lenny Jankowski wasn’t actually sure what they’d see from Efrem White‍ when the Vero Beach High School coaches decided to let the 2026 Florida athlete focus on wide receiver, but he was quite certain it would be very good.

And the Vero Beach High School head coach was correct.

“He's an athlete with length,” Jankowski says of the 6-foot-2, 155-pounder. “He's done a little bit of everything in high school. We play at the largest classification down here in Florida and play a top-end schedule year in and year out.”

As a freshman, White started every game at corner and also saw some time as “a specialty quarterback” and at receiver. As a sophomore and junior, he started on both sides of the ball, seeing time at quarterback, running back and all of the receiver spots.

“So really, all six offensive skill spots,” Jankowski said. 

“Not until this spring had he really locked in on practicing at one position. This spring, we just decided that we're going to lock him in and let him practice at receiver full-go because he's always done a little bit of quarterback on offense. When he had offensive practice time, that's kind of where it was spent with him.”

The results have been impressive. 

“Because he's come from quarterback, he knows it all,” Jankowski says. “But yet when you've done it like he has and you know little bit about everything, you've mastered nothing. So what we wanted to do this spring is really just let him lock in on one spot and really work the details of that position and see where that could take him and take us as a team. 

“He had dominant practice after dominant practice. I do think that because of his quarterback background, he's been able to do all of that other stuff. At the high school level, oftentimes when he's your guy, if he's starting every snap on defense and he's going to play 30 offensive snaps, well of those 30 offensive snaps, then maybe 20 of those, he's got a shot at touching the ball.

“He's one of those "touch guys." You're going to chart his touches. What we've done this spring is work him at an outside receiver position really to showcase his length and his speed and his ability to take the top off the coverage and get in and out of breaks. He's a force, and I think that a lot of people have now decided that.”

Indeed, White, who committed to Florida State in December of 2023, saw a surge of interest since the start of the year, including an offer from Notre Dame a couple weeks back. 

“To watch him practice at a spot like he did this spring, I think it really opened a lot of eyes,” Jankowski says. “He's 6-2 in length, but he's very lean. When people look at that, they say, 'Goodness, even though he's talented, has been very productive in high school, has done a lot of great things. I still think he has a big upside and a lot of growth.' 

“He's just one of those unique guys who can take the top off of coverage because he can really run and stretch it out, but yet he's got all of those qualities from a game-breaker, difference-maker that a receiver can do because he plays that position when the ball's in his hand. He's got that physical mindset that he's established as a defensive player and there's some nice crossover when the ball's in his hands. He's just a natural. He's just one of those guys who come around not too often for a high school coach like myself.”

White took the Irish up on their offer to visit South Bend unofficially this week.

“I don't know that there's too many guys who wouldn't do that,” Jankowski laughs. “I think they really see him as a difference-maker at receiver.

“But yes, he's been committed to Florida State since he's been a sophomore, and I know that that's been something that he's dreamed about his high school career as well. I don't want to dismiss any of that, but I know that he's excited to be up there at Notre Dame right now and I know he’s probably getting educated on the school, the program, and their plan as we speak, so excited for him. He's a great kid, he's a great student. All those things. 

“I know that Notre Dame attracts a special kind of athlete and I think he checks all those boxes.”

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