Charcandrick West (born June 2, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Abilene Christian Wildcats Abilene Christian Wildcats (variously ACU or ACU Wildcats) refers to the sports teams of Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the pre ...

and signed with the Chiefs as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2014.

Early life

West was born in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, and later lived in

Cullen, Louisiana Cullen is a town just south of Springhill in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,163 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area. Bobby Ray Washington, the former mayor of Cu ...

. He attended high school at Springhill High School in

Springhill, Louisiana Springhill is a small city in the northernmost of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,279 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 160 since 2000. Springhill is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area though it is ...

, where he lettered all four years in

for head coach Joey Pesses. He was named all-state his senior year after earning all-district honors in his sophomore, junior, and senior years. As a senior, he rushed for 1,350 for 16

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on 89 carries. In addition to his successful football career, West was a standout sprinter on the

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

team. He still holds the school and district record in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

with a time of 10.34 seconds.

College career

West originally committed to

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

as a cornerback in 2010. He was also recruited by

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

, Louisiana-Monroe, and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. West transferred to

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

during summer training camp. After transferring, West switched from cornerback to running back.

College statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

2014 season

West signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2014. West was released during the final round of cuts during the 2014 season on August 30. The next day, after clearing waivers, the Chiefs signed West to their practice squad. On November 11, he was elevated to the Chiefs' active roster. He appeared in six games in his rookie season, primarily on special teams.

2015 season

On October 11, 2015, running back

Jamaal Charles Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles (born December 27, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college footb ...

tore his ACL and was ruled out for the rest of the season, and West started in his place. His first start was in Week 6 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. Through Week 11, he had rushed for 373 yards on 98 rushing attempts. He was taken out early from a hamstring injury in the Week 11 game against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. Running backs Knile Davis and Spencer Ware backed up West for the remainder of the season. He finished the season with 634 yards on 160 carries, along with four rushing touchdowns. The Chiefs made the playoffs and faced off against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

. In the 30–0 victory over the Texans, he had eight rushes for 26 yards. In the Divisional Round against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, he had 61 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–20 loss.

2016 season

On September 18, 2016, West ran for a season-high 61 yards on six carries in a Week 2 loss to the

. On October 30, 2016, West ran for 52 yards and a season-high 14 carries against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. On November 20, 2016, West caught three passes for a season-high 42 yards against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. On December 8, 2016, West scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 14 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. Overall, he finished the 2016 regular season with 293 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 28 receptions, 188 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. The Chiefs made the playoffs and faced off against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the Divisional Round. In the 18–16 loss, he had two receptions for 14 yards.

2017 season

With the emergence of

Kareem Hunt Kareem AJ Hunt (born August 6, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Toledo Rockets and was selected by the Chiefs in the thi ...

in the Chiefs' backfield, West's role was in the receiving game for the majority of his output. In the season opener against the defending

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

champion

on ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...

'', he had a 21-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the Chiefs up by two possessions in the 42–27 victory. On October 8, against the

, he had two receptions for 12 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 72 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, 150 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. The Chiefs made the playoffs and faced off against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the

. In the 22–21 loss, he had two receptions for one yard but added three kick returns for 66 net yards. West was released by the Chiefs on August 22, 2018.

New York Jets

On August 24, 2018, West signed with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

On December 3, 2018, West re-signed with the Chiefs. He recorded two receptions for 37 receiving yards, one of them for a touchdown, on the 2018 season.

Indianapolis Colts

West signed with the

on August 19, 2019. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Retirement

West announced his retirement on December 3, 2019.

Personal life

West is the older cousin of NFL linebacker, Devin White.

References

External links

Abilene Christian Wildcats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Charcandrick 1991 births Living people Springhill High School (Louisiana) alumni Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana American football running backs Abilene Christian Wildcats football players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players Indianapolis Colts players