Khalil Herbert (born April 21, 1998) is an

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 ...

for the

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 ...

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). 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 ...

for

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

before transferring to

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 2020. Herbert was drafted by the Bears in the sixth round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Herbert attended American Heritage School in

Plantation, Florida Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 91,750. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Eve ...

. As a senior he rushed for 861 yards and nine touchdowns. He committed to the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

to play college football.

College career

As a true freshman at Kansas in 2016, Herbert played in eight games with three starts and rushed for 189 yards on 44 carries with three touchdowns. As a sophomore he started six of 11 games, rushing for 663 yards on 120 carries and four touchdowns. He played in 12 games his junior year in 2018 and rushed 113 times for 499 yards and five touchdowns. Herbert played in four games in 2019 before leaving the team. He finished the year with 384 yards on 43 carries with two touchdowns. Herbert joined

as a graduate transfer in 2020. He took over as the teams starting running back. Against

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, he set the school record for all-purpose yards in a game with 358.

Professional career

Herbert was drafted by the

in the sixth round, 217th overall, of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Chicago on June 2, 2021. Herbert started the season as the Bears kick returner and third-string running back. He earned more playtime after an injury to starting running back David Montgomery. Herbert capitalized on the opportunity by earning 75 yards on 18 carries in a Week 5 win over the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

. He was named the team's starting running back after Damien Williams was placed on the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

reserve list just days before the Bears Week 6 contest against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Herbert rushed for 97 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries in a 24–14 loss to the Packers. Herbert finished his first season with 433 rushing yards on 103 carries and 2 touchdowns. Herbert entered the 2022 season as the Bears' second-string running back behind Montgomery. In a Week 3 game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

on September 25, 2022, Herbert rushed for 157 yards on 20 carries and 2 touchdowns after Bears starting running back Montgomery went down with an injury in the Bears 23–20 win. Herbert was named the FedEx Ground Player of the Week for his efforts against the Texans. He suffered a hip injury in Week 10 and was placed on injured reserve on November 15, 2022. He was activated on December 23.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Virginia Tech Hokies bioKansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Khalil Living people Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American football running backs Kansas Jayhawks football players Virginia Tech Hokies football players 1998 births Chicago Bears players American Heritage School (Florida) alumni Brian Piccolo Award winners