The Florida Gators picked up their 17th commitment on Tuesday when they picked up an out of state quarterback.
Quarterback Jalen Kitna (6-4, 200, Burleson, TX. High) committed to Florida over Boston College and others on Tuesday.
“I fasted 40 days on my decision and the Lord gave me clarity on Florida,” Kitna said on why he committed to Florida. “Coach [Dan] Mullen and his staff inspired me with the way they run the collective program. The conversations I had the coaches helped and the virtual visit went great.”
Kitna says the Gators coaching staff was excited to hear the news about him joining the class.
“They were all super excited about it, I broke the news to them yesterday [Monday],” he said on the reaction of the coaches. “Of course they were super excited to have me, it has been really awesome. The culture they have built is great.”
Quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson and Dan Mullen impressed Kitna with their ability to adjust to each quarterback and that’s something the quarterback sees them doing with him.
“They’re really good at tailoring their offense to the personnel they have,” Kitna said on how Florida sees him fitting into the program. “Coach Mullen has coached several different type of quarterbacks from Tim Tebow, to Alex Smith and Kyle Trask. I think they’re just ready to get to work with me and see what they can do with me.”
Former Mullen quarterback Dak Prescott was coached by Kitna’s father Jon Kitna last year in Dallas and the former Mississippi State quarterback spoke highly of Mullen to Kitna.
“Dak [Prescott] has spoken very highly of Coach Mullen and has nothing but good things to say about him,” he said of what Dak has told him. “He has been telling me that Coach Mullen is going to work me and he’s going to prepare me to be successful.”
Kitna now joins Carlos Del Rio as the second quarterback in this class and the Texas native believe both guys will be important to Florida.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk with him yet,” Kitna said on if he has talked to Carlos Del Rio. “I know since they have some guys graduating that it’s going to be important for our class to come in and help build this program.”
With this decision out of the way, Kitna believes that this will be his final decision for college.
“Yeah, I’m excited to be a Gator,” he said, “Unless something changes with the coaching staff, I’m 100 percent committed to being a Gator and getting to Gainesville.”
Now Kitna plans to get started recruiting some other guys to join him in Gainesville for the 2021 class.
“Yeah, they’ve already sent some names for the class,” Kitna said on if he plans to start recruiting others. “I think they’re really excited about the quarterback room and helping to build the team.”