Our next prospect interview is with Florida Atlantic RB Kerrith Whyte Jr. Whyte is a 5’10” 200 pound running back with excellent speed and versatility.
Career Stats: 232 carries for 1,358 yards and 11 touchdowns. 22 catches for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. 81 kick returns for 2,115 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Whyte interviewed exclusively with Stampede Blue to talk about his college recruitment, playing alongside Devin Singletary, and his decision to turn Pro.
ZH: What made you decide to go play football at Florida Atlantic University?
KW: Truth be told, FAU was my only division one offer, they were actually my only offer period. So, I’m extremely grateful for them to allow me to extend my education for the next four years. I’m extremely grateful because out of high school, I was not highly recruited so it was kind of a tough process for me but those guys have been so good to me and I’m thankful for that.
ZH: You didn’t receive any other offers? That surprises me considering your talent. No FCS or Division II offers at all?
KW: It’s actually quite an interesting story that I will make pretty brief. So out of high school I was not highly recruited so I remember everyday just praying to God and saying, “God please help me get at least one offer so I can be able to play ball at the next level.” So I just continually prayed each and every night. I just wanted that one opportunity. I remember then that I was using my mom’s phone— for social media and stuff— because my phone was broken. One morning my coach texted me through Twitter saying, “Hey Kerrith are you going to the FAU camp?” My mom had my phone and saw the message and told me I should go to the camp.
Long story short, I ended up running the fastest 40 there and they offered me over the phone two days later. I told them on the phone that I commit which confused them because they asked me if I wanted to talk it over with my family first. I said, “No trust me, they’ll be pretty happy about this.” That is how I got that offer and that ended up being my one and only offer and I’m forever grateful for it.
ZH: That’s incredible man. So at FAU you had the chance to play for a coach like Lane Kiffin. What was that experience like?
KW: Coach Kiffin was very cool. Once he first got there I didn’t talk to him much but as time went by, I ended up forming a little relationship with him. He’s cool, I think he liked me as a player as he started designing plays for me to help me succeed. Kiffin is a good guy who knows his stuff (laughs). He knows football man.
ZH: At FAU, you formed one of the better running back duos in college football alongside teammate Devin Singletary. What was it like playing alongside him?
KW: That RB room was amazing and I love each and every player. Me and Devin, we pushed each other to new limits, nothing but love in that room between me and him, he’s my brother. We pushed each other each and every practice starting from conditioning to training, we were very competitive in everything that we did. We just continued to push and push each other and Coach Kevin Smith did a great job training us and giving us the tools and everything needed to be successful running backs. It was a good running back year, there’s always room for improvement you know.
ZH: So after a strong year, you were supposed to be “the guy” next season with Devin leaving. What made you decide to declare as a RS Junior?
KW: So as you can see I’m a big man of God, I put all my faith into God and every bit of me into God. I trust God. It was just something that came up in my heart last year in December and it seemed like time to go. I continually prayed about it, like what does this mean, and the answer became clear. I remember during Spring time telling teammates that I’m gonna leave this year. A few of them were kind of puzzled by that and they didn’t understand which I understand, if I told myself this years ago I’d be confused too. I just continue to pray to God and he showed me the way and I just stuck with it. It may be hard for others to understand but He brought me this far so I’m going to trust Him.
ZH: Completely understandable considering everything in your life so far. Going to your film, you were a big contributor on Special Teams at FAU. Is that an area you can help in immediately in the NFL?
KW: For sure, for sure. Since I came to college they’ve been preaching that special players play special teams so that is something that won’t change for me. I just have a lot of experience in college that will carry right over. It is definitely something I could contribute in right away.
ZH: Speaking of your special teams ability, you returned the first ever kick-off for a touchdown in FAU school history. How cool is it that you will always be a part of school history there?
KW: That is actually one of my favorite moments at FAU. It was really my first time playing kick return when I came to college. So I remember the day I started at kick return, coach pulled me aside and said that nobody in the history has ever returned a kick for a touchdown. It was kind of hard for me to believe man. So I figured it would be pretty cool to be the first one. I remember people calling it a curse and this and that and how I can’t do it but it was just something I was able to accomplish and it’s a blessing just to be a part of history and to be the first at that. It was very special.
@FAU_Football makes history!
— Stadium (@Stadium) November 11, 2017
Kerrith Whyte Jr. scores the first kick return for a TD in school history!
: https://t.co/DE2VTzsg0z pic.twitter.com/1mUqTbtXb5
ZH: Yeah man it really is. Your speed really stands out too on tape. Do you constantly train to be as fast as you are or were you always naturally fast?
KW: It’s both. I believe it’s a God given talent, I mean it runs in my family. My dad was beating me in races all the way to high school (laughs) you know until he got a little bit older. It runs in the family so it was a natural ability I always had but it is something I continually work on. The fast gets faster so I want to continually improve and get faster. That is something that is definitely an asset to my game that I want to continue to make good on.
ZH: What is your best trait going into the NFL?
KW: Honestly my speed shows up on the film but there’s a difference between speed and football speed. I think I’ve showed that I can run fast and just do things like catching out of the backfield and being versatile whether it is special teams or anything. I feel like I can do it all from speed to strength, all of that.
ZH: Who in the NFL do you compare yourself most to/ model yourself after?
KW: I often heard people say Alvin Kamara. I got that a lot. Even when he was in college as well, people said that. I try to model my game after a multitude of people that I loved growing up. I’ve just taken pieces from their game and added it to mine as much as I can. But people do say I remind them of Alvin Kamara. I guess that is their opinion so (laughs).
ZH: Excellent man. Well my final question before I let you go. Why should my team spend a draft pick on Kerrith Whyte Jr? What am I getting in not only the player but the man that is Kerrith Whyte Jr?
KW: Just character. Character goes a long way and as a team you want good people and how you treat people goes a long way. I’m more of an indirect relationship type of person, the type of person who would talk to other players on the side and check up on people to see how they are doing. Life is hard and you never know what somebody is going through. I’ll just go around and see how people are and just try to be that good spirit in the air you know. Things like that goes a long way and it has more of an impact than people realize. I’ll just be a man of good character, a man of integrity, and a man of good spirits and that will carry over on the rest of the team. Just try to be a difference maker on and off the field.
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