Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Squirrel White is learning a tough lesson this fall while playing for the Florida State Seminoles.

White spent the first three seasons of his college career at Tennessee before transferring to Florida State this past offseason.

In three seasons at Tennessee, White caught 131 passes for 1,665 yards and six touchdowns.

So far this season at Florida State, White has just five receptions for 52 yards and zero touchdowns.

The grass, as it turns out, wasn’t greener for White.

Why did Squirrel White leave Tennessee for Florida State?

White is a great example of why it’s so difficult for college programs to build depth in the current era of college football.

The Alabama native was likely going to see a significant dip in playing time had he stayed at Tennessee due to the emergence of Braylon Staley.

“If he (Staley) can stay healthy, I do think he is a guy in the slot that you look at and go, ‘Oh yeah, he can do a ton of things,’” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs in August. “I mean, no offense to him — I think [Staley] can make you forget about Squirrel White pretty quickly.”

The assumption is that White saw the writing on the wall at Tennessee and decided to cash in on his three seasons with the Vols by entering the transfer portal in search of a bigger payday.

I think Tennessee would’ve preferred to keep White on the roster. The Vols are fortunate that their top three wide receivers have mostly stayed healthy this season, since they don’t have much depth at the position.

But there was no way Tennessee could justify paying a backup the same amount of cash they’d pay a starter.

Unfortunately, this is the current state of the sport — it essentially means that most programs need good injury luck to have a real shot at the College Football Playoff, but that’s the reality every team faces.

As for White, I don’t want to say he made a mistake by transferring to Florida State. I don’t know the specifics of his personal situation away from the football field. Maybe it’s a decision he made with other factors in mind, and maybe White is completely happy with his decision (I hope that’s the case, to be honest…I certainly don’t think anyone should be rooting against his happiness).

Football-wise, though, it’s a move that didn’t make sense. White probably isn’t a future NFL star, but he was a good fit in Josh Heupel’s offense at Tennessee. And he probably would’ve been more productive for the Vols this fall than he has been at Florida State (even though he would’ve been behind Staley at UT).

The lack of structure in the sport, however, has forced players like White to choose between what’s best for their football careers and the biggest payday.

It’s a tough spot to be in, and it’s undoubtedly hindering player development across college football.

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