Written by Matt Klein**
He is back in British Columbia, where it all started. Sean Whyte, a native of White Rock who broke into the CFL as a kicker with the Lions from 2007-10, is ready for the perfect end to his solid career that will now come full circle.
The veteran Whyte returns to the west coast as a more mature, seasoned pro since he was dealt the Montreal Alouettes over a decade ago. In an exclusive chat with bclions.com, the CFL’s 14th all-time leading scorer spoke about his move back to the Lions and how it will coincide with his post-football firefighting aspirations.
“Right at 9:00 am when legal tampering opened on Tuesday (February 1st), Neil McEvoy called me. As a player, it feels good to be wanted. I came in to sign and it felt phenomenal, it felt like coming back home.”
We also saw firsthand just how sentimental the clutch kicker can be. He was sporting his original, gray Lions sweatpants and the first team hat issued by the late Kato Kasuya back in 2007. Just in case you wondered just how much his hometown Lions always meant to him.
Sean’s formative years had been with the Edmonton Elks for the last six seasons. Along with earning his first Grey Cup ring with the green and gold in 2015, Whyte was the team’s nominee for CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams player in 2019. Fittingly, he surpassed the 15,000-point mark with a field goal in an Elks victory at BC Place back on August 19th of last season. Now he looks forward to splitting the uprights more in orange.
“This is home. The Lions were the ones that groomed me. I’ve always been a Lion,” he said.
“It’s always been weird playing against the BC Lions because I grew up watching them, I grew up going to BC Place and watching Lui Passaglia and the Flutie brothers play. I’ve wanted to be the guy for the Lions and to represent all my family, friends and the crowd every game.”
Whyte has built an amazing career over the last 13 years in the CFL. He’s played in 168 career regular season games. He has hit 382 of 441 field goals (87%) and gives a 42.6 punting average to go along with those other accolades we mentioned above. He is also dedicated to another craft which made the decision to come back to the Lions even easier.
Sean is training to be a firefighter with White Rock Fir. He has already applied for a paid-on-call firefighter position and has been pursuing it during most of this offseason. Since signing with back the team, he has put extra stock in his training regimen with the goal of being in top shape for both of his passions.
“I want to have the best year I could possibly have for this next season. I’m just so excited, the team is looking really good, Neil and Rick (Campbell) have done a phenomenal job.”
Adding Whyte along with quarterback Michael O’Connor to back up Nathan Rourke brings in a new-look Lions offense that Sean is excited to compete with at training camp and beyond. He’s also excited to get to work with specialists buddies Stefan Flintoft and Tanner Doll, that threesome having the potential to form one funny group on the field and off.
“A strong team is a team that goes out together and has fun together,” explained Whyte.
“I’ve been the guy to get the boys together whether it’s golf or poker, when you have each other’s backs that’s when you grow together. In Edmonton we had each other’s backs, we were so tight night that you couldn’t beat us because we fought for each other.”
Pretty soon, it will feel like he never left.