Jonathan Wilhite (born February 23, 1984) is a former

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 with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

and was drafted by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the fourth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. Wilhite has also been a member of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and

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 NF ...

Early years

Wilhite attended Ouachita Parish High School in

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolita ...

, where he played football as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and receiver. He was named to the All-Northeast Louisiana team and was a second-team All-District selection.

College career

Butler County CC

2004

In 2004, Wilhite attended

Butler County Community College Butler County Community College (BC3) is a public community college in Butler Township, Pennsylvania. It also offers courses in Cranberry Township, as well as in Lawrence, Mercer, and Jefferson counties. More recently the college has begun to ...

and posted 44

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, seven

pass deflections In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

and five

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. He earned Earned National Junior College All-American team and All-Conference first-team and he was rated as the best

Junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

in the country. Wilhite was also named first-team All-

Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). As of 2007, the KJCCC was home to more than 3,000 student-athletes in the 19 me ...

Auburn

2005

As a sophomore in 2005, Wilhite played in 12 games and started the last seven games. He was second on the team with seven pass deflections, five of which came in the last seven games of the season. Wilhite also had 47 tackles which made him fifth on Auburn's defense. Against

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

he had five tackles and two pass deflections, against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

he had three tackles and a pass deflection. In the

Capital One Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

he had five tackles. His best performance of the year came against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

where he had seven tackles and one interception and was named SEC Defensive players of the week.

2006

In 2006, as a junior he started in 10 games and had 24 tackles. Against Alabama he had six tackles and then three against Georgia. Wilhite had two tackles against

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

and three against Ole Miss. In the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

, he did not play after he suffered an injury against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

2007

As a senior in 2007, Wilhite started in six games: two at cornerback and four at

nickel back In American football, a nickelback is a cornerback or safety (gridiron football position), safety who serves as the additional defensive back in a nickel defense. A base defense consists of two cornerbacks and two safeties, making the nickelback ...

. He had 30 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery along with two interceptions and two pass deflections. During his college years, Wilhite became the team jokester, often impersonating coaches and teammates with dead-on accuracy. Auburn's Director of High School and NFL relations said of Wilhite's impersonations,

Professional career

New England Patriots

Jonathan Wilhite 8-28-09 Patriots-vs-Redskins

Wilhite was drafted by the

in the fourth round (129th overall) in the

. On July 17 he signed a contract with New England. He made his NFL debut on September 7, against

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

and had a season high six tackles against

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

on October 26. His first career interception came off of

JaMarcus Russell JaMarcus Trenell Russell (born August 9, 1985) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. Highly successful at LSU, where he was MVP of the 2007 Sugar ...

of the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

on December 14. After spending most of the season behind cornerback

Deltha O'Neal Deltha Lee O'Neal, III (born January 30, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the University of Califor ...

, Wilhite replaced O'Neal as a starter for the final four weeks of the 2008 season. Wilhite played in 14 games for the Patriots in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, starting eight. He recorded two interceptions, 45 tackles, and five passes defensed. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Wilhite played in the first nine games of the season for the Patriots, starting one, before missing four games with a hip injury. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on December 15, with a hamstring injury. He finished the season with 20 tackles and two passes defensed. On August 29, 2011, he was waived.

Denver Broncos

Wilhite signed with the

on September 4, 2011.

Chicago Bears

Wilhite signed with the

on April 5, 2012. However, he was waived on August 31.

Personal life

In 2011, during the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

, Wilhite married Sheena Davis.

References

External links

*
Denver Broncos bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhite, Jonathan 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Monroe, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks Butler Grizzlies football players Auburn Tigers football players New England Patriots players Denver Broncos players Chicago Bears players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people