Kaleb Whitehair ’17 has reached a remarkable point in his career, having been hired in April as a physical therapist for the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s been a nine-year journey to the National Football League that began at Kansas Wesleyan when Whitehair received a bachelor’s degree in Health Science in 2017.
Since then, there have been stops in Knoxville, Tenn., Hays, a return to Salina, then Lawrence and a year in Texas at the University of Houston.
Yet along the way Whitehair has not forgotten the advice he got from Matt Drinkall, his football coach during his three years at KWU.
“I remember sitting in offensive line meeting, and he was talking about find work, find work, keep finding work,” Whitehair said. “That’s something that’s really stuck with me. From an athletic standpoint, and just in my life, you keep finding work and keep finding ways to add value to what you’re doing. You can find the problems, but not everyone can solve them. Be someone that can apply themselves to solve those problems.”
Whitehair’s football experience was his impetus to become a sports physical therapist, someone who helps athletes and sports-minded people remain competitive or recover from injuries.
Whitehair, who attended Ell-Saline High School, had a difficult athletic career at KWU, where he played wide receiver, tight end and finally H-back (blocking tight end).
“You go from getting the ball all the time to never getting the ball, and it puts your ego in check,” he said.
Each of his seasons ended or was interrupted by injuries — fractured wrist, hamstring and a fractured hand that required career-ending surgery.
It also pointed him toward his career path.
“I wanted to do something with science and related to the body with anatomy and physiology,” Whitehair said. “I wanted to find a career where I could do that and help people.”
After graduating from KWU, Whitehair spent two years at South College in Knoxville, Tenn., where he earned his doctorate in physical therapy.
He had hoped to do a residency, but COVID-19 intervened, so he moved to Hays, where he spent three months working in a rural outpatient hospital. He returned to Salina for a year and a half, working at the Salina Regional Health Center physical therapy clinic.
Once COVID had subsided, he attained a residency at Lawrence Memorial Hospital that partnered with the University of Kansas analytics department and Lawrence High School, where he honed his skills.
He then landed a fellowship that sent him to the University of Houston, where he was the physical therapist for the football team during the 2025 season.
Today, Whitehair is learning the ropes at the professional level. The 49ers are currently building a new training and rehab facility.
“Report cards come out every year, and you get graded on training room, training room staff and all those things. They felt like they needed to make some improvements,” he said.
Whitehair works for the head athletic trainer, the director of rehabilitation and five other trainers/therapists.
“I’m more of an assistant physical therapist,” he said. “They’re not going to give me the big all-star guys right off the get-go. It’s one of those things you kind of got to prove yourself again and learn the 49er way. My goal is to help injured athletes return to sport at a high level, if not better than they were before.”
Whitehair said his job often involves more than just the physical recovery from an injury.
“Sometimes it’s the mental aspect that can be the most challenging,” he said. “Maybe it’s a contract here, a guy’s trying to prove that he’s still worth his livelihood, so there’s a lot of things that go into it. It can be taxing both mentally and physically.”
Whitehair credits KWU for setting him up for success.
“The biggest thing was the relationships,” he said. “Athletically, did I have the best career that I was hoping to have? No. But when you’re surrounded by good human beings, you still find avenues where you can make meaningful memories and lasting experiences. I was a student government president, I was a (resident assistant) in the dorm, I was a student assistant in the Student Development Office, I was part of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). I was part of so many more things than just football.”
“He was focused on both academics and his athletics,” said Lesa Dunn, assistant professor for sport and exercise science. “You don’t see that a lot, but he was 100 percent driven in the academic arena as well as on the field. I knew he was special.”
Whitehair is proud of his Sunflower State heritage.
“I take pride in being from Kansas; there are a lot of good hard-working people,” he said. “I like showing people that you can be someone who went to Ell-Saline, a small 2A school, and graduated with 32 people in your class and still make it to the NFL if you work hard and you’re a good human.”
Story by Bob Davidson.
