Kenton Jermaine Keith (born July 14, 1980) 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 ...

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 ...

. He was signed by 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 in 1 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) in 2003 Then the National Football League Colts (NFL) in 2007. 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 ...

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. Keith was also a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

and of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL),

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

(CFL) and

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. During their first season, the Nighthawks played their home gam ...

of the United Football League (UFL).

Early years

Keith played high school football at

Omaha Benson High School Omaha Benson High School Magnet, Benson High Magnet, or Benson High, is located at 5120 Maple Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, in the Benson community of Omaha. The original site of Benson High was the current building that houses Benson ...

, averaging better than 28 yards per carry as a junior and better than 18 yards per carry as a senior. Keith will be inducted into his high schools Hall of Fame soon for breaking the rushing title in only two years of playing.

College career

Kenton then attended

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

rushing for 2,134 yards over four seasons. Keith also led the nation in yards per carry his Junior year with an 8.5-yard average

Professional career

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Keith signed with the

in 2001. In four CFL seasons, he ran for more than 3,800 yards, topped 1,000 yards twice, caught 52 passes and had eight TD receptions in 2003. Keith's best CFL season came in 2004, when he gained 1,154 yards in 14 games—a number which approaches the 1,500-yard plateau over a full 18-game schedule. If you calculate his yardage from 2003 and 2005 in the same manner, neither total falls under 1,200. In the spring of 2004, he signed with New York Jets then returned to the CFL where he was a West Division All-Star in 2006.

Indianapolis Colts

Keith signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in early 2007. He was a second string running back for the Indianapolis in 2007, backing up feature back

Joseph Addai Joseph Kwaku Duah Addai Jr. ( ) (born May 3, 1983) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round (30th overall pick) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University b ...

. Keith had his first 100-yard rushing game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 33-17 win with the Colts. Keith ran for 533 yards and scored four touchdowns as Addai's backup.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Keith was signed by the

on September 22, 2008. Suffered an injury to his LCL and was released.

Omaha Nighthawks

Keith was signed by the

on June 10, 2011. This was the Lock-Out year in the NFL, then the NightHawks folded.

Personal

Kenton's father Percy Keith played college football at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(1976–1980). Keith is also cousins with former NFL

Roger Craig and current NFL running back

Breece Hall Breece Hall (born May 31, 2001) is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa State, where he was a two-time All-American and Big 12 Offensive Player of the ...

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Kenton 1980 births Living people American football running backs American players of Canadian football Canadian football running backs Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Indianapolis Colts players New Mexico State Aggies football players New York Jets players Omaha Nighthawks players Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Saskatchewan Roughriders players African-American players of Canadian football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people