Kyle Kitchens

Kyle Kitchens (born January 25, 1996) is an American football defensive end playing for the Berlin Thunder in the European League of Football. He played college football for the Catawba Indians.

Kyle Kitchens
No. 45 – Berlin Thunder (ELF)
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1996-01-25) 25 January 1996
Decatur, Georgia
Height:6 ft 1.6 in (1.87 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Decatur High School (Georgia)
College:Catawba
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× ELF Defensive Player of the Year (2021, 2022)
  • 3× ELF sacks leader (2021, 2022, 2023)
  • First-team All-ELF (2022)
  • GFL All-Star (2019)
  • GFL sacks leader (2019)
  • 3× AFCA All-American (2015, 2016, 2017)
  • 2× SAC Defensive Player of the Year (2015, 2017)

Early life and college career

Kitchens attended Decatur High School, where he played lacrosse, basketball and baseball, besides American football for the Bulldogs.[1] He was named two-times All-State player and was selected for the All-Region team.[2][3]

For the 2014 college football season he committed to Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina in the NCAA Division II. There he quickly became a starter and core player in the team. He was the second overall defensive player to be named AFCA All-American Team three times in a row in NCAA Division II history.[4] With his team, he won his conference in 2015. He left his college as an all-time sack leader (38.5) and with 71 total tackles for loss.[5]

Professional career

Kitchens began his professional career with the Potsdam Royals in the German Football League (GFL) in 2019. In 14 games total he racked up 76 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, 16 sacks und four pass-break-ups. With that he was leading the league and was named GFL North All-Star Team. For the 2020 GLF season he went to the Hildesheim Invaders,[6] where he wasn't able to play because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He then played in The Spring League for the 2020 fall season and in early 2021 for the Wild Aces in the Fan Controlled Football league.

For the first season of the European League of Football the Leipzig Kings with head coach Fred Armstrong signed Kitchens to their roster.[7] Whilst the Kings had a 5-5 records, Kitchens lead the league with 12.5 sacks. He was named Defensive Player of the Year and All-Star Team at the ELF Honors. In November 2021 Kitchens signed with the Berlin Thunder for the 2022 season.[8][9] He was Week-MVP in week 6[10] and was named again DPOY and first-All-Star Team member at the ELF Honors 2022. Kitchens was the first resigning of a player for the 2023 season.[11]

Professional statistics
YearTeamGPTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
TotalSoloAstTFLSackBrUpINTYdsTDPDFFFRTD
European League of Football
2021Leipzig Kings10058391920.512.510001310
2022Berlin Thunder12058382033.516.041805411
ELF total 2211677395428.551806721
Source: stats.europeanleague.football

Personal life

Kitchens also was member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity at nearby Livingstone College and member of the Black Student Union on Catawba campus. He studied in an undergraduate degree in Sports Management.[12]

References
  1. Bill Banks (4 January 2013). "AP Names Decatur High's Kitchens 2nd Team All State". patch.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. "2013 Georgia Sportswriters Association All-State Football Team". usatodayhss.com. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. Bill Banks (3 December 2012). "7 Decatur High Athletes Named to All-Region Teams". patch.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. "2019 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America Teams.'". afca.com. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  5. "Catawba College Football Records" (PDF; 1.0 MB). gocatawbaindians.athleticsite.net. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  6. Kyle Kitchens wechselt zu den Hildesheim Invaders. In: gfl.info. February 2020, retrieved 27 August 2022.
  7. "ELF: Leipzig Kings holen Sack-Monster Kyle Kitchens". ran.de (in German). 14 May 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  8. Alex Malchow (13 November 2021). "ELF: Berlin Thunder sign defensive player of the year DE Kyle Kitchens". americanfootballinternational.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  9. "ELF Berlin Targets Kyle Kitchens to Improve Pass Rush". cflnewshub.com. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  10. Elias Hoffmann (2 July 2022). "ELF MVP Of Week 6: Kyle Kitchens". footbowl.eu (in German). Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  11. Tim Hanswillemenke (25 September 2022). "Berlin Thunder extends back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kitchens". europeanleague.football. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  12. Kelsey Diehl (24 September 2017). "Superstar: Kyle Kitchens". catawbapioneer.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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