Kermit Whitfield

2014: Wide receiver and kick returner who appeared in all 14 games...had 11 receptions for 145 yards and three carries for 40 yards...led FSU with 665 yards on 32 kick returns...his second-half performance at Miami - three catches for 60 yards - was essential to FSU’s 30-26 come-from-behind victory...had two grabs for 26 yards at NC State...opened the season with three receptions for 30 yards against Oklahoma State in the Cowboys Classic...rushed twice for 33 yards, including a 21-yard run, versus The Citadel...was on the Paul Hornung Watch List given to the nation’s most versatile player.

2013: Dazzling freshman who was arguably the fastest player in the nation with the ball in his hands…led the nation in kick return average (36.4), breaking a 59-year-old ACC record in the process…mark also set FSU record and ranks as the seventh-best single season average in college football history…led nation by over six yards over second-ranked Ty Montgomery of Stanford (30.41)…returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the BCS National Championship Game, racing down the sideline to score with 6:24 remaining in the contest to give Florida State its first lead – 27-24 – since the first quarter…also had a 97-yard kickoff return score at Wake Forest in which he powered through a face-mask from a Demon Deacon defender…his return touchdown against Wake Forest was the first FSU kickoff return for a score since 2008…named ACC Specialist of the Week following the Wake Forest performance...six of his 17 returns went for at least 40 yards…totaled 818 all-purpose yards on 25 touches for an incredible 32.8 yards per touch average...nine of his 25 touches went for 40+ yards...his first ever rushing carry was a 31-yard touchdown against NC State...his second career carry was a 74-yard score versus Syracuse...had three carries for 110 yards (36.7 ypc) and two touchdowns...tallied five receptions for 89 yards...caught one pass for 42 yards against Bethune-Cookman...returned a kickoff 44 yards versus Duke in the ACC Championship Game...had a 58-yard kickoff return against Idaho and a 43-yard return at then-No. 3 Clemson...added a 41-yard return against Bethune-Cookman.

PERSONAL: One of the fastest high school players in the nation in the 2013 class, Whitfield was clocked at 4.37 in the 40-yard dash, which was the fastest recorded among athletes in the ESPN database that year...explosive player on the edge who easily separates from defenders...also excelled as a return specialist at Orlando Jones...caught 38 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, helping Jones reach the second round of the 4A state football playoffs in 2012...held a four-star ranking from ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports and a three-star mark from Scout and PrepStar...he is the cousin of former FSU WR Marvin Bracy, who also ran track for the Noles...Whitfield was the Florida 3A state champion in the 100 and 200 and has a personal-best 100 time of 10.21...he also won the adidas Dream 100 race in New York in 2012 against the nation’s top high school sprinters...committed to FSU in August 2012 and stayed firm, despite offers from Florida, Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Texas A&M, South Carolina and West Virginia...born October 8, 1993...majoring in social science.