Jalen Kitna, the son of longtime NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, is headed to the SEC.
Jalen, a three-star quarterback recruit in the class of 2021, announced Tuesday that he has committed to play football at the University of Florida. The younger Kitna, listed at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, previously committed to Boston College before backing off that pledge in January. Kitna ranks as the 17th-best pro-style quarterback in his class, according to Rivals.com.
- New Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is expected to take a hands-on approach with the offense, and that rendered Jon Kitna obsolete. Per ESPN’s Ed Werder, the Cowboys are parting ways.
- Jennifer Kitna is the driving force behind one particular football-crazy family. The wife of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna has been his support through the ups and downs of his playing and coaching career.
- Jon Kitna went undrafted out of Central Washington in 1996 but ended up spending 16 seasons in the NFL playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and then the Dallas.
- Career Stats for QB Jon Kitna. YEAR TEAM G ATT COMP PCT YDS AVG LNG TD INT 1st 1st% 20+ SCK SCKY RATE; 1997 Seattle Seahawks.
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— Jalen Kitna (@KitnaJalen) May 26, 2020Before picking Florida, Kitna also had offers from Arizona, Colorado, Georgia Tech and Oregon State. He is the second quarterback in Florida’s 2021 class, joining Carlos Del Rio, a four-star recruit from Loganville, Georgia.
Kitna is the 15th member of Florida’s 2021 class. The class is currently ranked No. 5 in the country, according to Rivals’ team rankings. Only Ohio State, Tennessee, Clemson and USC rank ahead of the Gators at this point in the recruiting cycle.
Jalen played last season at Rick Reedy High School in Frisco, Texas, but is transferring to play for his father, the new head coach at Burleson High School, for his senior season. According to Rivals recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman, Kitna has “big-time arm strength” and can make throws from the pocket and with his legs.
Kitna told Gators Territory that the UF staff “really liked” his footwork:
'They really liked my footwork,' Kitna previously told Gators Territory. 'They said they need a leader for their offense. They said those are some of their base values and that's what they like about me. Obviously there are things I can work on and things I can fix, but those things were really important to them and stood out to them.'
Jon Kitna went undrafted out of Central Washington in 1996 but ended up spending 16 seasons in the NFL playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and then the Dallas Cowboys. In all, Kitna threw for 29,745 yards, 169 touchdowns and 165 interceptions in 141 career NFL games.
Jon spent 2019 as the quarterbacks coach for the Cowboys but is now returning to the high school level for his fourth head-coaching job.
© Provided by Yahoo! Sports Jalen Kitna, the son of longtime NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, is headed to Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)More from Yahoo Sports:
May 27 (UPI) -- Jalen Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, has committed to play college football at the University of Florida.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound quarterback from Burleson High School in Burleson, Texas, announced his decision to play for the Gators Tuesday on social media. He is rated as the No. 72 pro-style quarterback prospect in the country, according to 247 Sports. He is the No. 23 pocket passer in ESPN's class of 2021 rankings.
Kitna is the second quarterback commit from the 2021 class to join the Gators. Florida also got a commitment from Carlos Del Rio, the No. 59 prospect in the 2021 ESPN 300 recruiting rankings. Del Rio is the No. 12 pro-style quarterback prospect in ESPN's rankings and 247 Sports' rankings.
Jon Kitna Cowboys
Kitna initially committed to Boston College before he decommitted in January. He threw seven touchdowns and seven interceptions last season at Rick Reedy High School in Frisco, Texas. He then transferred to Burleson High School, where his dad was hired as football coach.
Jon Kitna, 47, attended Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash. He went to Central Washington University before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent and signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Kitna spent four seasons with the Seahawks, five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and three seasons with the Detroit Lions before he played his final two seasons for the Dallas Cowboys. He threw a career-high 26 touchdown passes in 16 starts in 2003 for the Bengals.
The Gators are scheduled to start the 2020 regular season against Eastern Washington on Sept. 5 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
Jon Kitna Family