Antoine White.jpg

Penn State defensive tackle Antoine White and defensive tackle Robert Windsor apply pressure during the Lions' 33-13 win over Kent State on Sept. 3, 2016. Joe Hermitt, PennLive.com

Penn State defensive tackle Antoine White has decided to transfer.

The New Jersey native announced on Monday night that, after three seasons with the Lions, he plans to pursue the rest of his academic and football careers at Albany University. The Great Danes were 7-4 in 2016, and since they are a FCS program, White will be eligible to play immediately. The school's head coach is Greg Gattuso, who played for Penn State's 1982 national championship team.

"My past 3 years at Penn State have been filled with so many great experiences as a student-athlete, in school, sports, as well as in life," White wrote in a statement he posted on social media.

"I am forever grateful for all of these and I have built relationships that I know will last a life time."

It was not immediately clear what led to the transfer.

White came to Penn State as a three-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2014, and in his final season with the blue and white, he netted 17 tackles (1.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks as a member of a deep defensive line rotation for position coach Sean Spencer.

Penn State's final depth chart listed White as a second-team defensive tackle, a role he was expected to have in 2017, as well.

While White is the first player to transfer this offseason, he may not be the last, and either way, it opens up a scholarship for the Lions in the recruiting class of 2017, and it's a valuable one, as the program was previously believed to be at or very near the 85 scholarship limit imposed by the NCAA.