Jacob White enters his third season on the Northwestern staff as the assistant linebackers coach in 2026.
White helped spur the development of NU linebackers Mac Uihlein and Braydon Brus, who finished second and third on the team in tackling, in 2025. En route to an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection, Uihlein became the first Big Ten linebacker to tally at least 90 tackles, 6 TFLs and four interceptions since Del'Shawn Phillips did so in 2018. Brus, a former special teamer, broke out as a redshirt junior in 2025 with 81 total tackles, 41 solo tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, all of which are career highs.
White arrived in Evanston after working as a defensive graduate assistant at Ball State during the 2023 season. Before that, he coached at Butler from 2021 to 2023, first as a secondary assistant before transitioning to safeties and outside linebackers.
A former First Team All-MAC linebacker and three-time team captain at Ball State, White finished his playing career with 325 tackles and multiple Academic All-MAC honors. As a senior in 2019, he ranked 16th nationally with 117 total tackles and was named Ball State’s Defensive Player of the Year. He also earned the Dave McLain Leadership Award twice during his time in Muncie and completed both his bachelor’s and MBA degrees at Ball State.
White began his coaching journey in 2020 at Hinsdale Central High School (Ill.), where he worked under Super Bowl champion Jason Buck. A native of Clarendon Hills, Ill., he was a two-time all-conference player and team captain at Hinsdale Central.
White helped spur the development of NU linebackers Mac Uihlein and Braydon Brus, who finished second and third on the team in tackling, in 2025. En route to an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection, Uihlein became the first Big Ten linebacker to tally at least 90 tackles, 6 TFLs and four interceptions since Del'Shawn Phillips did so in 2018. Brus, a former special teamer, broke out as a redshirt junior in 2025 with 81 total tackles, 41 solo tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, all of which are career highs.
White arrived in Evanston after working as a defensive graduate assistant at Ball State during the 2023 season. Before that, he coached at Butler from 2021 to 2023, first as a secondary assistant before transitioning to safeties and outside linebackers.
A former First Team All-MAC linebacker and three-time team captain at Ball State, White finished his playing career with 325 tackles and multiple Academic All-MAC honors. As a senior in 2019, he ranked 16th nationally with 117 total tackles and was named Ball State’s Defensive Player of the Year. He also earned the Dave McLain Leadership Award twice during his time in Muncie and completed both his bachelor’s and MBA degrees at Ball State.
White began his coaching journey in 2020 at Hinsdale Central High School (Ill.), where he worked under Super Bowl champion Jason Buck. A native of Clarendon Hills, Ill., he was a two-time all-conference player and team captain at Hinsdale Central.