Bengals cornerback says he knew Mike White was better than Zach Wilson

NY Jets quarterback Mike White just keeps getting praise everywhere he goes, even from his opponents.

After leading the Jets to a hard-fought victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, White has emerged from relative anonymity to national stardom. His Week 8 performance had many comparing him to Zach Wilson, who was widely touted as the Jets quarterback of the future.

Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie ventured to say White was better than the No. 2 pick and that he knew how great of a player White was all along.

Awuzie makes the bold claim based on his history with Mike White: they both played for the Dallas Cowboys from 2018-2019.

Whereas Awuzie was a starting cornerback for Dallas, White remained buried on the quarterback depth chart behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.

Still, Awuzie got his first-hand taste of what White could do when he watched White toss the ball around in practice. Awuzie told reporters, "I knew he could make those throws. I was secretly rooting for him."

NY Jets quarterback Mike White receives high praise from a former teammate

Heading into the Week 8 matchup, Awuzie had already thought White could play as well "or better" than Zach Wilson. He was proven right.

White, a fifth round pick for the Cowboys in 2018, has never played in an NFL regular season game until this year with the Jets. The Western Kentucky product remained on Dallas' roster throughout his rookie season but solidly as a third-string quarterback.

In 2020, White failed to win the backup role and was released as part pf final cuts in training camp. The Jets signed him to their practice squad last September, and the rest is history.

For someone who has been competing for No. 2 quarterback duties for most of his pro career, White showed the Cowboys what they were missing in his first career start in Week 8, which also happened to be a historic performance.

White will start under center for the Jets against the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, seeking the Jets' third win of the season. When Wilson recovers from injury, White will likely return to his seat on the bench, but he's still got plenty of fans rooting for him to succeed.