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Sean Whyte (Canadian football)

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Sean Whyte
No. 10     BC Lions
Whyte with the BC Lions in 2023
Born: (1985-10-23) October 23, 1985 (age 39)
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
Career information
StatusActive
CFL statusNational
Position(s)Placekicker
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight175 lb (79 kg)
CollegeSanta Monica
CJFLBig Kahuna Rams
Career history
As player
2007–2010BC Lions
2011–2015Montreal Alouettes
2015–2021Edmonton Eskimos / Elks
2022–presentBC Lions
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star2023, 2024
CFL East All-Star2013
CFL West All-Star2023, 2024
Awards
Career stats
Field goals made468
Field goals attempted533
Field goal %87.80
Points scored1,928
Longest field goal55

Sean Whyte (born October 23, 1985) is a Canadian professional football placekicker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Amateur career

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Whyte played college football for the Santa Monica Corsairs and Canadian Junior College Football for the Big Kahuna Rams.[1] He finished his junior eligibility with the Rams in 2007 where he was also named to the All-Canadian Offensive Team as a placekicker.[1][2]

Professional career

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BC Lions (first stint)

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Whyte was signed by the BC Lions as a territorial exemption on May 29, 2007, where he practiced regularly with the team throughout the season.[1][3] Later that year, he signed a three-year contract to remain with the Lions.[1] In 2008, he spent the year on the practice roster.[4]

In 2009, following an injury to incumbent Lions kicker, Paul McCallum, Whyte played in his first professional game on July 16, 2009, against the Edmonton Eskimos, where he made his only field goal attempt of 23 yards and made all five of his extra point conversions.[5][6] He played in 11 regular season games, making 21 of 29 field goal attempts and punting 70 times with a 41.7-yard average before the kicking duties were given back to McCallum in October that year.[5][6]

Whyte returned to the Lions in 2010 as the backup kicker and saw little game action due to McCallum's strong play.[6] Whyte played in only two regular season games where he made all six of his field goal attempts and punted 15 times for a 40.1-yard average.[5]

Whyte with the Montreal Alouettes in 2015

Montreal Alouettes

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Whyte was traded to the Montreal Alouettes on the 2011 draft day on May 8, 2011, after the Lions drafted punter Hugh O'Neill.[7] He won the kicking job following training camp and connected on 45 of 52 field goal attempts and punted 115 times for a 41.3-yard average throughout all 18 regular season games in 2011.[5] Following his strong season, he won the East Division's Most Outstanding Canadian Award.[8]

Whyte continued to play well for the Alouettes as he connected on 80.5% of his field goal attempts in 2012 and 82.0% in 2013, where he was named a Division All-Star for the first time in his career.[5] He had his best season as an Alouette in 2014 when he made 41 of 47 field goal attempts for an 87.2% completion rate and had a career-high punting average of 44.9 yards.[5] Despite his excellent season, Whyte fell out of favour with the Alouettes in 2015 as the team opted to dress rookie Boris Bede as the team's kicker due to his stronger leg.[9] Whyte spent the first six games on the reserve roster behind Bede, who performed well enough for Whyte to be released on August 10, 2015.[10][11]

Edmonton Eskimos / Elks

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Whyte with the Edmonton Elks in 2021

On September 4, 2015, it was announced that Whyte had signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, after the team's incumbent kicker, Grant Shaw had been injured.[10][12] He played in the team's final nine games of the regular season where he made 24 out of 26 field goal attempts.[5] He also served as the team's punter for his first six games with the team until Shaw returned from injury.[5][10] After the team finished first in the West and won the West Final, where Whyte made all three of his field goal attempts, he played in his first career Grey Cup game in 2015.[5] Despite making just one of his three field goal attempts, the Eskimos prevailed and defeated the Ottawa Redblacks by a score of 26–20 in the 103rd Grey Cup game and Whyte won his first championship.[13]

In his second year with the Eskimos, Whyte had his best season as he made 45 of 48 field goal attempts for a 93.8% completion rate, which was the third-best completion percentage in CFL history, at the time.[5] However, he was not awarded All-Star status due to Justin Medlock kicking a CFL-record 60 field goals that year.[14] After suffering an injury in 2017 that caused him to miss 12 games, he returned in 2018 where he made 36 of 40 field goal attempts.[5]

In 2019, he was the unanimous selection for the Eskimos' Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.[15] He signed a contract extension through the 2021 season with the team on December 31, 2020.[16] He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.[17]

BC Lions (second stint)

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On the first day of free agency, on February 8, 2022, Whyte signed with the Lions.[18] After wearing number 6 with the Alouettes and Elks, he opted to return to wearing number 10, his old number with the Lions and the same number as one of his favourite hockey players, Pavel Bure.[19] In his first season back with the Lions, he connected on 36 of 39 field goal attempts for a rate of 92.3%, which was the sixth-best single season rate in CFL history, but Rene Paredes was named the All-Star in 2022 after making 54 of 60 attempts.[5]

On December 7, 2022, Whyte signed a two-year contract extension with BC.[20] In 2023, Whyte had the best season of his career, as he connected on 50 of 53 field goal attempts, a rate of 94.3%, which tied for the fourth-best completion percentage in CFL history (Boris Bede had a 94.9% completion rate that year).[21] At the end of the season, he was named a divisional All-Star for the second time in his career and he was a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career.[22]

Entering the 2024 season, Whyte had a streak of 18 consecutive field goals made, dating back to the 2023 season. On July 7, 2024, Whyte successfully kicked his 31st consecutive field goal, breaking the BC Lions franchise record previously held by Paul McCallum, and finished the game having made 32 in a row.[23] On July 13, 2024, Whyte kicked seven field goals in a game versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders, extending his franchise record to 39 consecutive field goals and moving him into a tie for 2nd overall on the all-time league record.[24] The seven field goals made had also tied a franchise single game record, which had only been done twice before, both times by Lui Passaglia.[25] Whyte's streak came to an end at 47 consecutive field goals on August 24, 2024, against the Ottawa Redblacks, when his 37-yard field goal attempt was partially blocked by Jovan Santos-Knox.[25]

Personal life

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Whyte was born to parents Pat and Tom and has two siblings, Jeff and Jennifer.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Whyte offered Lions contract". Vancouver Sun. October 16, 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Canadian Junior Football League All-Canadian Teams" (PDF). Canadian Junior Football League. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Sean Whyte". BC Lions. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "McCallum is the oldest player in the CFL, and he's also its hottest kicker". Hamilton Spectator. July 7, 2010.
  7. ^ "Lions deal kicker Sean Whyte to Montreal". Canadian Football League. May 8, 2011.
  8. ^ "White Rock kicker up for CFL award". Peace Arch News. November 14, 2011.
  9. ^ "As N.F.L. Prepares for Longer Extra Points, C.F.L. Offers a Preview". The New York Times. August 15, 2015.
  10. ^ a b c "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Alouettes release kicker Sean Whyte from roster". CTV News. August 10, 2015.
  12. ^ "Edmonton Eskimos sign former Alouettes star kicker Sean Whyte". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 4, 2015.
  13. ^ "Ottawa Redblacks vs Edmonton Eskimos". Canadian Football League. November 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "Stars Aligned: CFL Divisional All-Stars announced". Canadian Football League. November 9, 2016.
  15. ^ "CFL announces 2019 team award winners". October 30, 2019.
  16. ^ "EE Football Team extends the contracts of five players". Esks.com. December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  17. ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  18. ^ "Kicker Sean Whyte inks deal with BC Lions". Canadian Football League. February 8, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Kicker Sean Whyte back where it all started — with the B.C. Lions". The Province. February 9, 2022.
  20. ^ "Whyte Returns! Kicker Signs Two-Year Extension". BC Lions. December 7, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "2023 CFL statistics" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  22. ^ "Stars of the show: 2023 CFL All-Stars, fan favourite unveiled". Canadian Football League. November 8, 2023.
  23. ^ @BCLions (July 9, 2024). "History for Sean Whyte! Mr. Reliable has officially set a new #BCLions record by making 32 consecutive field goal attempts, beating Paul McCallum's previous mark set in 2011. Congrats @SeanWhyte6! 🤝" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "B.C. Lions topple Saskatchewan Roughriders in 35-20 victory". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. July 14, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Game Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
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