Levonte "Kermit" Whitfield (born October 8, 1993) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
wide receiver and
return specialist
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
who is a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...
. He played
college football for the
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdiv ...
.
College career
As a freshman in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...
, he led all NCAA major college players with an average of 36.4 yards per kickoff return.
Against the #2
Auburn Tigers
The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
in the
2014 BCS National Championship Game
The 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game was the national championship game of the 2013 college football season, which took place on Monday, January 6, 2014. The game featured the Auburn Tigers and Florida State Seminoles. It was the 16t ...
, with the Seminoles trailing 24-20, Whitfield returned a kickoff from
Cody Parkey
Cody Parkey (born February 19, 1992) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Auburn and was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also been a member of the Ph ...
100 yards for a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. His 36.4 yard average broke the
Atlantic Coast Conference record and was the seventh best average in NCAA major college history.
[ Through the first nine games of the 2015 season, Whitfield had caught 40 passes for 482 yards. He caught nine passes for 172 yards against ]Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
on October 17, 2015.[
]
Professional career
Chicago Bears
Whitfield signed with the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2017. On May 14, 2017, he was waived by the Bears.
Cincinnati Bengals
On July 29, 2017, Whitfield signed with the Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Bengals' practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on January 1, 2018.
On September 1, 2018, Whitfield was waived by the Bengals and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on December 31, 2018. He was waived on July 25, 2019.
Los Angeles Wildcats
In October 2019, Whitfield was selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles:
* Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL), a team that played in the American Football League of 1926
* Los Angeles Wildcats (Minor League AFL), a team that played in the ...
during the open phase of the 2020 XFL Draft
The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social ...
. He was waived on March 4, 2020.
Dallas Renegades
Whitfield signed with the Dallas Renegades
The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...
on March 9, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Whitfield signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded i ...
of the CFL on February 18, 2021. He was released on July 20, 2021.
See also
* List of NCAA major college yearly punt and kickoff return leaders
References
External links
Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Kermit
1993 births
Living people
Players of American football from Orlando, Florida
American football wide receivers
Florida State Seminoles football players
Chicago Bears players
Cincinnati Bengals players
Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL) players
Dallas Renegades players
Saskatchewan Roughriders players