Kerrith Whyte
Kerrith Whyte Jr. (born October 31, 1996) is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida Atlantic and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
No. 40 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Born: | Loxahatchee, Florida | October 31, 1996||||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||||
High school: | Seminole Ridge | ||||||||||||||||
College: | Florida Atlantic | ||||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 7 / Pick: 222 | ||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
|
College career
Whyte attended Florida Atlantic, where he spent his career behind starting back Devin Singletary.[1] In 2018, Whyte recorded a career-high 134 carries for 866 yards and eight touchdowns, along with 19 kickoff returns for an average of 28.7 yards and a touchdown.[2]
He ended his FAU career with 232 total carries for 1,358 and 11 touchdowns, 22 receptions for 327 yards and two touchdowns, and a 81 kickoff return for 26.1 average yards and two scores.[2]
Professional career
Before the 2019 NFL Draft, Whyte participated at FAU's Pro Day, where he recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.36 seconds; the time would have been the second fastest at the NFL Scouting Combine.[1]
Chicago Bears
In the seventh round, the Chicago Bears drafted Whyte with the 222nd-overall pick. Bears running back coach Charles London had conducted a private workout with Whyte at FAU prior to the draft.[2] He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13.[3] He was waived on September 26 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[4][5]
Pittsburgh Steelers
On November 16, 2019, Whyte was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers off the Bears practice squad.[6] Due to injuries to the Steelers' top running backs, on December 8, 2019, Whyte accounted for 74 total yards in a win against the Arizona Cardinals. In the 2019 season, White totaled 24 carries for 122 rushing yards in six games.[7]
References
- Evenson, John (April 24, 2019). "FAU's Kerrith Whyte confident that this could be a 'special' NFL Draft for him". WPEC. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- Mayer, Larry (April 27, 2019). "Bears pick RB Kerrith Whyte in Round 7". Chicago Bears. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- Campbell, Rich (May 13, 2019). "Bears sign draft picks Riley Ridley, Kerrith Whyte and Stephen Denmark". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- Finley, Patrick (September 26, 2019). "Bears cut rookie RB Kerrith Whyte, re-sign TE Bradley Sowell". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Barbieri, Alyssa (September 27, 2019). "Bears sign RB Kerrith Whyte Jr. to practice squad". USA Today. Bears Wire. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- Varley, Teresa (November 16, 2019). "Steelers sign Cain, Whyte". Pittsburgh Steelers. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- "Kerrith Whyte 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.