Kenneth Earl "Junior" Hemingway Jr. (born December 27, 1988) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by the

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in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He completed his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

senior season in

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for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

team. He led the 2011 team in receptions and receiving yards, and was tied for the lead in receiving

touchdown 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 ...

s. Hemingway was the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and 2011 Big Ten Conference leader in yards per reception, ranking third in all of Division I

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

as a senior. He received 2011 All-Big Ten honorable mention and was the 2012 Sugar Bowl Most Outstanding Player. After totaling 593 receiving yards in 2010, Hemingway surpassed this yardage total in his senior season, finishing with a career-best 699 yards. The improvement resulted in Hemingway's league-leading 2010 average of 18.5 yards per reception improving to 20.6 yards per reception in 2011, which was the third-best average per catch in the nation (up from 15th in 2010).

Early life

In high school, he was rated as the 4th, 26th and 38th best

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

wide receiver in the country by

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, Scout.com, and Rivals.com respectively. He was regarded as the 12th best player in the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

by Rivals. ESPN rated him as the 19th best player in the national class of 2007, while ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' regarded him as the 83rd best player in the class. Prior to his 2006 senior season, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' listed him as one of six players to watch in the state of South Carolina based on his 56 receptions for 846 yards and 10

s. He was the second highest rated recruit in Michigan's class of 2007 (behind Ryan Mallett) according to ESPN. He posted 12 receptions in the 2006 Class 4A Division 2

South Carolina High School League The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) is the organization that rules and regulates school athletics in the state of South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of ...

championship game against Greenwood High School. He participated in the North-South Game of the Carolinas.

College career

As a true freshman on the 2007 Michigan team, he appeared in 10 games, making his first start September 22 against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. His first receptions came during an October 6 game against

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

when he recorded 3 catches for 33 yards. He also recorded a reception in the January 1,

2008 Capital One Bowl The 2008 Capital One Bowl was held on January 1, 2008, at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The game featured the University of Michigan Wolverines—who finished the 2007 season tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with an ...

against the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. He was limited as a true sophomore by

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

which caused him to miss the final eight games of the season for the 2008 team, but did make one start. He received a medical

as a result of the illness. Hemingway posted his first 100-yard reception game, first two-touchdown performance and a career-high five-reception effort in the September 5 season opener for the 2009 team against

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

, during his third career start. He missed the following week's

rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a university or college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry, whic ...

against Notre Dame due to an ankle sprain. In November, he played through back problems. As a redshirt sophomore, he totaled 16 receptions and 268 total

yards from scrimmage Yards from scrimmage is a gridiron football statistical measure. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the offensive team by advancing ...

as a receiver. He also served as a

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

making 10 returns for 86

yards The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...

. As a fourth-year junior for the 2010 Wolverines, he posted three 100-yard games and another two-touchdown performance. He did this despite missing the first two games of the season due to a hamstring injury as well as the November 27 regular season finale against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

due to an injury. On October 2, his then career-high 129-yard, three-reception effort included a 70-yard touchdown on the second play of the second half which gave the team a 28–21 lead. It also included a 42-yard reception with 21 seconds left to put the ball on the four-yard-line before the game winning score on the next play in the 42–35 contest against

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Two weeks later, he broke his career highs for both yards and receptions in a nine-catch 134-yard effort against

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. On November 6, he recorded 104 yards and two touchdowns in a six-catch performance against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. For the season he totaled 593 yards on 32 receptions. This ranked third on the team behind Roy Roundtree and Darryl Stonum. However, he led the Big Ten Conference in yards/reception with an 18.5 average. This ranked him 15th in the nation. When

Brady Hoke Brady Patrick Hoke (; born November 3, 1958) is a former American football coach. He was most well known for serving as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2014. He also served as the head football coach at Ball ...

replaced

Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at West Virginia Mountaineers football, West Virginia University, his second sti ...

as Michigan's head coach, '' AnnArbor.com'' predicted that Hemingway would be the biggest individual beneficiary on the team, as Hoke was expected to change the team's offensive schemes from the

spread offense :''"Spread offense" may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball.'' The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the offense horizontal ...

to a

pro-style offense A pro-style offense in American football is any offensive scheme that resembles those predominantly used at the professional level of play in the National Football League (NFL), in contrast to those typically used at the collegiate or high scho ...

. He was also expected to help pick up the slack created by the full-season suspension of Stonum. As a fifth-year senior, he established a new career high on September 10, 2011, against Notre Dame in the rivalry game and during the first night game ever played at

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "the Big House," is the American football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third-largest stadium in the wo ...

, when he recorded three receptions for 165 yards. Before the game,

Desmond Howard Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former professional football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, wi ...

, who had worn number 21 before Hemingway at Michigan, was honored for his enshrinement in the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

, and the jersey number was designated to be adorned with a "Desmond Howard: Michigan Legend" patch on the upper-right chest. On October 8, against the Northwestern, Hemingway had 5 receptions for a total of 124 yards. Following the

2011 Big Ten Conference football season The 2011 Big Ten Conference football season is the 116th for the Big Ten. The conference started its season on Saturday, September 3, as each of the conference's teams began their respective 2011 season of NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Sub ...

, he earned All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention recognition from the coaches. In the January 3, 2012 Sugar Bowl, 23–20

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

victory over

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

he recorded the team's only two touchdowns, earning 2012 Sugar Bowl Most Outstanding Player honors. He concluded the season with team highs of 34 receptions, 699 yards and four receiving touchdowns, giving him a conference leading 20.6 yards per reception. His receiving average ranked third in all of Division I FBS. Hemingway was invited to the January 21,

2012 East–West Shrine Game The 2012 East–West Shrine Game was the 87th staging of the All-star game, all-star college football exhibition game featuring NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision players and a few select invitees from CIS football, Canadian university foo ...

, and he was an early invite to the February 22 — 28, 2012

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. In the September 3, 2011 season opener against

, Hemingway recorded a 37-yard reception. The game was ended by mutual agreement in the third quarter due to inclement weather. At first, the stats for the game were considered official by the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan, but the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

vacated the statistics for this game because three quarters were not completed. However, at the conclusion of the regular season, the NCAA reversed course and announced that the statistics from the game would be counted in the season totals.

Professional career

Hemingway was one of 47 wide receivers that participated in the February 22–28, 2012

. In the

3 cone drill 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

with a time of 6.59, he ranked first among the wide receivers (26 participated in this event) and 3rd at the combine He ranked first among the wide receivers (26 participated in this event) and seventh overall in the

20-yard shuttle The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

with a time of 3.98. He ranked second among wide receivers (13 participated in this event) and seventh overall in the 60-yard shuttle with a time of 11.16. He ranked 3rd among the wide receivers in the

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

with 21 reps. He ranked 8th among the wide receivers in the

standing long jump The standing long jump, also known as the standing broad jump, is an athletics event. It was an Olympic event until 1912. It is one of three standing variants of track and field jumping events, which also include the standing high jump an ...

with a distance of . His time of 4.53 ranked 19th of the 40 wide receivers who participated in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft with the 238th selection overall. He is one of three Michigan Wolverines and 41 Big Ten players drafted. On May 11, 2012, he signed a four-year contract. On August 31, Hemingway was cut. He was initially signed to the practice squad but was released to make room for Rich Ranglin on September 3 before being resigned to replace Ranglin on September 8. On December 29 (the day before the last game of the

2012 NFL season The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowbo ...

), the Chiefs placed Terrance Copper on injured reserve and elevated Hemingway from injured reserve. During the 2013 preseason, Hemingway led the Chiefs in receptions and touchdowns. He seemed to have moved into the fourth wide receiver position behind

Dwayne Bowe Dwayne Lorenzo Bowe (born September 21, 1984) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football at Louisiana State University, and was selected ...

Donnie Avery Donnie Dion Avery (born June 12, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Houston Cougars and was selected by the St. Louis Rams ...

, and

Dexter McCluster Dexter Marquise McCluster (born August 25, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, and San Diego ...

. In the 2013 Chiefs season opener, he caught a touchdown against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, who had his college freshman season quarterback

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines foo ...

and his

senior season quarterback Denard Robinson on their roster. The reception, which came from

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football for the Utah Utes, earning first-team All-American ho ...

, was Hemingway's first in the NFL. Hemingway had a three-reception game that included the game's opening score on December 1 against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. In the final game of the season, he had 5 receptions for 45 yards, giving him 13 receptions and 125 yards for the season. Hemingway also posted 2 receptions for the Chiefs in the

2013–14 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2013 season began on January 4, 2014. The postseason tournament concluded with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43–8, on February 2, at MetLife Stadium in E ...

against

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Hemingway injured his hamstring in week 7 of the

2014 NFL season The 2014 NFL season was the 95th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 49th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on Thursday, September 4, 2014, with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl ...

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 ...

on October 19. On September 1, 2015, the Chiefs cut Hemingway.

Personal life

Hemingway is the older brother of

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Tonka Hemingway Terrell H. "Tonka" Hemingway (born October 31, 2001) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selec ...

Notes

External links

Official bio at Michigan

Hemingway
at

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

Hemingway
at

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

Hemingway
at

Hemingway archive
at ''

Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

''
Hemingway archive
at '' AnnArbor.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingway, Junior 1988 births Living people American football wide receivers Michigan Wolverines football players Kansas City Chiefs players People from Conway, South Carolina Players of American football from Horry County, South Carolina 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen