BATON ROUGE - Devin White, LSU football star and the top linebacker prospect in the country, has been selected 5th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

White, a staple of LSU's defense in recent years, was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the draft Thursday night. He's the first Tiger selected in this year's draft. CB Greedy Williams was also widely expected to go in the first round.

White was often considered the heart of LSU's defense in 2018, with his controversial half-game suspension against Alabama prompting talks of a "whiteout" amongst fans as well as the viral #freedevinwhite campaign. He is also the first Tiger to be selected for the Dick Butkus Award, naming him the best college linebacker of the 2018 season.

I Love You #40EVER ♥? pic.twitter.com/M2rAbL5FVk

— DEVIN WHITE 4??0?? (@DevinWhite__40) April 25, 2019

Taking Daisy Mae down to Tampa Bay!

The @Buccaneers select @DevinWhite__40 with the fifth overall pick. The Butkus Award winner is the highest linebacker selected in school history. #NFLSU | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/ABESqPfsrG

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) April 26, 2019

History... pic.twitter.com/y5hVEdwiV2

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) April 26, 2019