Interview with UCF Football Official Visitor Caden Kitler

The Knights are looking for at least one interior offensive line prospect with the capabilities of playing center. This past weekend, Caden Kitler officially visited UCF and he could be a possible center target.

Brian Smith | Jun 21, 2021

Interview with UCF Football Official Visitor Caden Kitler /

Building upon the momentum of securing the commitments of Jamaal Johnson and Tyler Griffin, UCF football hosted five official visitors over the course of Father’s Day weekend. One of those visitors came to Orlando from the Lone Star State.

A highly recruited interior offensive line target, Caden Kitler earned numerous scholarship offers while playing for Plano (Texas) John Paul II. Memphis (June 4), Boise State (June 11), and UCF (June 18) have earned official visits from that list, and it’s quite the diverse list indeed.

In addition to those three programs, the 6’3”, 300-pound Kitler received offers from a list of schools from far and wide including Purdue, Utah State, Washington State, Western Kentucky, Arkansas State, East Carolina, Charlotte, Houston, Connecticut, Louisiana Tech, Colorado State and Liberty. To add to the list, he received offers from several highly acclaimed academic institutions as well.

Navy, Yale, Pennsylvania, Harvard, Dartmouth, Air Force and Army each offered Kitler. That’s one of the most interesting lists of offers of any prospect in the country.

As for Kitler and his UCF trip, he was happy to discuss it with Inside The Knights.

What did you think about UCF’s campus?

“The campus is gorgeous,” Kitler said excitedly. “Everything about it. It’s freaking gorgeous.”

Coming from Texas, how did you start getting recruited by UCF?

“When (UCF Offensive Line) Coach (Herb) Hand was at (The University of) Texas, he started recruiting me when I was in the tenth grade. He said that he liked that I played hockey, that hockey players have some nastiness. He offered me when he went to Charlotte, and then offered me when he got to UCF.”

You sent me a photo of you playing center in a UCF uniform. What’s that all about?

“Coach Hand actually recommended that I play center. I played center during spring ball. I figured I would try it out. He was pretty excited about that.”

What position did you play during your junior season?

“I played tackle.”

What were your thoughts about UCF Head Football Coach Gus Malzahn?

“He was really engaged, especially with the parents. He’s a good man.”

There’s no specific set of criteria that Kitler mentioned as to what he wanted in a school, but he’s very academic oriented, and he’s all about football. This Ivy League-level student will wallop an opposing defensive lineman, and he will likely be at or near the top of his classes academically. In short, he’s what college football coaches like to find along the recruiting trail.

Kitler could potentially be a center prospect, and that’s something that Coach Hand definitely wants in this recruiting class. Perhaps Kitler could be that player. Kitler is unsure of a specific date that he will make a college decision, but there are no other known official visits that are lined up either.

A Film review of Kitler will be coming out very soon.