WATCH: 49ers' George Kittle at Norman High School
By Mitch Stephens
Jan 30, 2020, 10:45am
San Francisco tight end had one college offer coming out of Norman but he made the most of it.
Highlights: George Kittle's high school highlights Watch the San Francisco 49ers tight end during his senior year at Norman (Okla).
Tight ends don't always get a ton of love on recruiting services. Especially since most high school offenses rarely feature the position.
The San Francisco 49ers 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end is perhaps, outside of Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the most talked about and feared offensive weapon in Super Bowl LIV.
For the second straight season, the pride of Norman (Okla.) caught at least 85 passes for more than 1,000 yards to earn Pro Bowl honors. He had 85 catches for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns in 2019 after going for 87 catches, 1,377 yards and five scores in 2018. Kittle missed two games with injuries this season.
That kind of production — or even an NFL career — could have been unimaginable coming out of Norman, Kittle's third high school in four years. He collected 26 receptions (11.6 average) and five scores during his senior year to earn All-State honors.
His recruiting ranking was No. 1,535 in the country by 247Sports, and his top position was considered linebacker, where he intercepted five passes. Kittle received a single offer — from Iowa, where he attended and began to flourish.
He put up equally pedestrian numbers in four years at Iowa with 48 career catches for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2017 draft by the 49ers and by his second season he was an NFL all-Conference player.
