UAB Football picks up commitment from qb jt kitna

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - August 23, 2024

Listen to quarterback Jamison “JT” Kitna detail his recent commitment to UAB and it becomes apparent quickly that the decision has many layers.

Obviously, a good place to start is the Kitna family’s longtime relationship with Dilfer and a UAB roster than currently includes one of JT’s older brothers. However, according to the youngest of three quarterback playing sons of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, that’s just a start.

“Yeah, they've been recruiting me for a long time, I've known Coach Dilfer for a little bit, my brother (Jalen) is out there playing for him and he loves the program,” said JT, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior at Lakota East High in Liberty Township Ohio. “I think it would be pretty cool to play with my brother. But then also the staff that Trent has got together down there, it's unlike any other staff. You know, with (Alex Mortensen) as the OC and Coach (Nick) Coleman, the quarterback coach, and just everyone around the program. Everyone likes to be around there and they like to go into work every day. You know, it's a big family vibe and I feel like I know just about anyone in that building, you know, whether they're offensive side or (defensive) side. I know everyone when I’m there. It's just a big family and I just feel like they're recruiting me the hardest and they've been with me since the start.”

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Kitna is starting his second season at Lakota East after spending his first two seasons at Burleson High in Texas. His father has been his head coach in each of his high school seasons and his oldest brother, Jordan, is currently his offensive coordinator. As a sophomore in 2022, JT threw for 1,958 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions in nine games at Burleson. Last season, he threw for 1,489 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions while also rushing for 227 yards and six interceptions. He played nine games once again with his junior season ending because of a serious injury on Oct. 13.

“I dislocated my ankle (and) that fractured my fibula and ruptured my deltoid ligament,” Kitna said. “But like probably 10 minutes after it happened, I just accepted the fact (and said), ‘Alright, let's get back at it. It’s time to work.’ I was in my cast like a week and a half or whatever, got that off and then started rehabbing immediately. So, you know, I got back two months faster than the docs thought. That was great.”

He was back working with the team in January, which was the start of the offseason work, and missed very little moving forward.

At the time, Kitna thought his football future was at the University of Houston. Kitna, who is rated a three-star recruit by all the major recruiting services, committed to then-Houston coach Dana Holgorsen in August of 2023. He reopened his recruitment in December after Willie Fritz was hired to take over the program. Kitna had offers from UAB, Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Pitt, Indiana, Syracuse, Duke, Toledo, James Madison, North Texas and UTSA, according to On3 Sports. He said he’s been to UAB at least four times, including once on an official visit. He said his final decision didn’t come quickly, but it did come before he took his first game snap of his senior season.

“Whenever I got done taking my official visits, I had a 40-day fast, to just to kind of get clarity and see where God wanted me to end up,” said Kitna, who is rated the nation’s 73th best quarterback in the 2025 class and 52nd best recruit in Ohio by On3 Sports. “This was the place that he said. I wasn't even planning on committing (right now), but this was the place that he said, and all the other doors were closed, all the other rumblings were closed (in my mind). I was like, well, this is the place, and he showed me that it was the place. So, that's where I'm going, there's no reason to wait. After I knew, I wanted to get it done before the season started, so there in no thoughts in the back of my mind, no recruiting going on and I can just go play my senior season with the guys and try to win as many games as possible.”