There were plenty of top notch names signing on to be a part of Florida State’s latest football recruiting class, but few may have a bigger initial impact than Levonte “Kermit” Whitfield. The four-star wide receiver prospect isn’t on campus in Tallahassee yet, but when he gets there he could turn out to be a virtual clone of former Florida Gator standout Percy Harvin from day one.
In fact, he’ll have a leg up on Harvin for a very clear reason: He’s already even faster.
Whitfield set a new state record in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finishing line in just 10.15 seconds to win the prestigious Bob Hayes Invitational title in Jacksonville. The 10.15 time topped the previous state record which was set by another former Sunshine state prep standout: Jeff Demps, who went on to play football and run track at Florida.
Whitfield’s 100 time is the top in the nation at the prep level so far in 2013, though the Orlando Sentinel reported that it came under wind-aided conditions, with gusts blowing up to 2.4 meters per second. While that might make true track aficionados jot an asterisk next to Whitfield’s time, the athlete himself was more than happy with his March Saturday, on which he also set a new Central Florida record for the 200-meters, crossing the finish line in 20.66 seconds.
That 200 time was only the second best at the meet, behind Jacksonville (Fl.) Stanton Prep star Kendal Williams’ 20.63, but it was also the second best time in the nation so far in spring 2013. For the Orlando (Fl.) Jones High wideout, the afternoon was a strong one for proving just how fast he can be off the field.
“It was good from start to finish,” Whitfield told the Sentinel. “I started strong and stayed with it.”
Now, if he can record those times on a football field come fall 2013, Seminoles fans will be awfully excited every time he gets to touch the ball.
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