Jon Kitna details why his son, Jalen, committed to the Florida Gators
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Going into this recruiting cycle, Florida coach Dan Mullen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson knew they were likely to take a pair of QBs as only two current signal callers on scholarship are set to return next season — Anthony Richardson and Emory Jones.
After reeling in a commitment from Carlos Del Rio in July 2019, UF extended an offer to Lone Star State prospect Jalen Kitna when he reopened his recruitment in early January. The product out of Burelson, Texas, had been a member of Boston College's 2021 class for just over five months, but decommitted after the staff was let go.
Kitna's father, former NFL player and Cowboys QB coach Jon Kitna, told Shane Matthews on "PodUp" this week that Dallas star signal caller Dak Prescott helped give the family information about the program before the Gators became a real contender.
"Within a couple of days, that’s when he started hearing from Florida," Kitna said of what transpired after Jalen's decommitment from Boston College. "And the great thing about Florida is, before they ever started recruiting him, Dak had told us all about Brian, all about coach Mullen. He couldn’t have talked any higher about them, and he was just talking in general. He wasn’t trying to recruit Jalen for them or anything like that. It was just a general conversation. So I had that background information."
There were a number of other reasons that led to Jalen ultimately choosing UF on May 26, which we discussed in a prior conversation.
The elder Kitna said the staff understood that Jalen's mother, Jennifer, was important to him, the possibility of playing in the SEC was appealing and getting to meet the chaplains at the university via Zoom was crucial as well.
When talking about Johnson and Mullen, Kitna says the two of them played key roles in getting his son to join forces with the Gators.
"And then really, the way that coach Johnson would speak and talk about football, it turned Jalen on to that place," Kitna said. "And then watching coach Mullen, the success he’s had with all different types of quarterbacks. That’s one of the things coach Mullen talked about. We’re going to tailor the offense to the strengths of our teams and our quarterback. A lot of people say that, but that’s what he’s done everywhere he’s been."
Although Florida's staff did a good job of pitching the school to them, the Kitna family wanted to get on campus and view it in person before a decision was made. Kitna noted that this experience, which took place several weeks prior to Jalen's commitment, was beneficial for both his son and his wife.
"He knew he was going to commit there, but we were like, ‘Let’s at least lay eyes on it, so we have a point of reference,'" Kitna said. "So we literally flew in, walked around for a half a day, walked around the next morning and then flew right back out in less than 24 hours. But at least he could see, ‘OK, here’s the stadium. Here’s where I would potentially be living my freshman year.’
"And it was really good for my wife because she felt like that was a big city, but understood that it’s really a college town. So that was really nice for us to be able to see that and for him to just see the campus."
If quarterbacks are truly committed to learning under Mullen, they'll reap the fruits of their labor.
This is evidenced by his development of Alex Smith, Dak Prescott and Tim Tebow, all of whom enjoyed incredible collegiate success and were drafted in the NFL. Also, Feleipe Franks saw increased numbers in almost every statistical category under Mullen in 2018, and Kyle Trask was one of the nation's best quarterbacks last season after not having started a game since his freshman year of high school.
According to Kitna, Johnson and Mullen will be happy with the player they're getting in Jalen as he's always looking to soak up knowledge.
“Jalen is super coachable," Kitna said. "He’s just very, ‘You say it, I’m doing it.’ And he wants to know the why. He’ll ask you. But even without the why, he’s just going to do it. So he and I have never really butted heads. And he likes talking football. He’s a football nut. He wants to know coverages. He wants to watch film. He wants to emulate guys that have played in the league.
"Jalen, like I said, he’s an ascending player and we feel he’s got a chance to be one of the best if not the best in the country this year as a senior," Kitna later added. "And going forward, he’s got everything you need at the quarterback position."
Kitna did say that while his son is younger compared to his peers and should actually be a member of the Class of 2022, he's been coming into his own lately. Jalen has grown six inches and gained 70 pounds over the last year and a half, and his father expects for him to take advantage of the strides he's made physically this upcoming season.
"I think he weighed 140 pounds and we’re playing in 6A in Arizona," Kitna said of his son's sophomore campaign. "He’s getting his head knocked off, but he stood in there and made some incredible throws. Junior year he did a little bit of running, but this year he’ll be much more of a dual-threat. He’s very explosive. He jumps 10’5” broad jump, 36 inches in the vertical, runs really well, 4.7 or less, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
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