Fozzy Whittaker

Foswhitt Jer'ald "Fozzy" Whittaker (born February 2, 1989)[1] is a former American football running back and kick returner. He played college football at Texas.[2] He is from Pearland, Texas.

Fozzy Whittaker
Whittaker with the Panthers in 2016
No. 34, 35, 43
Position:Running back
Kick returner
Personal information
Born: (1989-02-02) February 2, 1989
Houston, Texas
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Pearland (Pearland, Texas)
College:Texas
Undrafted:2012
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:615
Rushing average:4.1
Rushing touchdowns:2
Receptions:68
Receiving yards:552
Receiving touchdowns:4
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Whittaker attended and played high school football at Pearland High School.[3]

College career

Whittaker played college football at the University of Texas from 2008–2011.[4][5] In the 2008 season, he had 64 carries for 284 rushing yards in seven games.[6] In the 2009 season, he had 53 carries for 212 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in 11 games.[7] In the 2010 season, he had 80 carries for 351 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.[8] In the 2011 season, he had 66 carries for 386 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.[9]

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

On December 18, 2012, Whittaker signed with the Arizona Cardinals to join their practice squad.[10] On March 11, 2013, he was released by the Cardinals.[11]

San Diego Chargers

On March 12, 2013, Whittaker was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Chargers. He made his NFL debut on September 9, 2013 against the Houston Texans.[12] He played in three total games with the Chargers in the 2013 season. On September 28, he was released by the Chargers.

Cleveland Browns

On September 30, 2013, Whittaker was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns.[13] On October 27, against the Kansas City Chiefs, he scored his first professional touchdown.[14] With the Chargers and Browns in the 2013 season, he had 28 carries for 79 rushing yards to go along with 21 receptions for 155 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[15] On May 12, 2014, Whittaker was released by the Cleveland Browns.[16]

Carolina Panthers

On July 27, 2014, Whittaker was signed by the Carolina Panthers after an injury to Panthers rookie running back Tyler Gaffney that occurred the previous day. After a strong preseason showing, he made the initial 53-man roster, announced on August 30, 2014. In the 2014 regular season, he finished with 32 carries for 145 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with five receptions for 60 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.[17] On January 3, 2015, in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Whittaker scored a crucial 39-yard, go-ahead receiving touchdown in the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals, helping the Panthers to a 27–16 victory which enabled them to advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, where the Panthers' season ended in a 31–17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.[18][19] In Whittaker's second year with the team, he had 108 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown as the Panthers finished the season with a franchise-record 15 wins.[20][21] In the first two rounds of the playoffs, they defeated the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals.[22][23] On February 7, 2016, Whittaker was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, Whittaker had four carries for 26 yards, one catch for 14 yards, and two tackles on special teams, but the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.[24][25]

In the 2016 season, Whittaker would appear in all 16 regular season games. He had 57 carries for 265 yards and 25 receptions for 226 yards.[26]

On September 18, 2016, Whittaker ran for 100 yards on 16 carries against the San Francisco 49ers when Jonathan Stewart left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.[27] On October 2, he caught nine passes for 86 yards against the Atlanta Falcons.[28]

On March 8, 2017, Whittaker signed a two-year contract extension.[29] In the 2017 season, he finished with seven carries for 18 rushing yards to go along with five receptions for 47 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.[30]

On May 10, 2018, Whittaker suffered a torn ACL during a non-contact drill in the off-season. As a result, he was placed on injured reserve and ruled out for the entire 2018 season.[31]

Personal life

Whittaker was raised by parents Foster Jer'ald Whittaker and Gloria Whittaker.[32] His father died from lymphoma in 1992.[32]

References
  1. "Fozzy Whittaker". NFL.com. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  2. George, Brandon (September 10, 2008). "Texas Longhorns' Foswhitt Whittaker sparkles in debut". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  3. "Former Pearland HS, UT star set to compete in Super Bowl 50". ABC13 Houston. February 2, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  4. "Foswhitt Whittaker College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  5. "Fozzy Whittaker College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  6. "Foswhitt Whittaker 2008 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  7. "Foswhitt Whittaker 2009 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  8. "Foswhitt Whittaker 2010 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  9. "Fozzy Whittaker 2011 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  10. "Cardinals sign RB Whittaker to practice squad". arizonasports.com. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  11. Urban, Darren (March 11, 2013). "Beanie Wells Released". AZCardinals.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  12. "Houston Texans at San Diego Chargers - September 9th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  13. Associated Press (September 30, 2013). "Browns waive RB Montario Hardesty, former 2nd-round pick plagued by injuries as pro". Fox News Channel. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  14. "Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs - October 27th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  15. "Fozzy Whittaker 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  16. "Fozzy Whittaker latest news and rumors". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  17. "Fozzy Whittaker 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  18. "Wild Card - Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers - January 3rd, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  19. "Divisional Round - Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks - January 10th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  20. "Fozzy Whittaker 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  21. "2015 Carolina Panthers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  22. "Divisional Round - Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers - January 17th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  23. "NFC Championship - Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers - January 24th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  24. "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  25. "Super Bowl 50 - National Football League Game Summary" (PDF). NFL.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  26. "Fozzy Whittaker 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  27. Keith, Connor (September 18, 2016). "Fozzy Whittaker answers the call". Carolina Panthers. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  28. Weaver, Tim (October 3, 2016). "The good, the bad and the ugly from Panthers' Week 4 loss". Panthers Wire. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  29. Strickland, Bryan (March 8, 2017). "Panthers re-sign Fozzy Whittaker". Panthers.com.
  30. "Fozzy Whittaker 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  31. Teope, Herbie (May 10, 2018). "Fozzy Whittaker out for 2018 with torn ACL". NFL.com.
  32. Person, Joseph (October 1, 2016). "Family instills Panthers RB Fozzy Whittaker with speed, faith, humility". charlotteobserver. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
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