Lithonia DL Jimmie Kitchen takes the long road back home to Georgia Tech
To say that Jimmie Kitchen took an unconventional route to Georgia Tech would be an understatement. To say that he’s thrilled to officially be a member of the Yellow Jackets’ Class of 2011 would be, too.
Kitchen
Kitchen, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive lineman from Lithonia, signed a national letter-of-intent with Tech on Wednesday. He did it exactly 55 weeks after signing a letter-of-intent with Tennessee State in February of 2010.
“Man, it feels great,” Kitchen said Thursday. “I knew I belonged at a big school in D-1. It’s just overwhelming right now to get my second chance.”
In between, Kitchen has been qualified, then not qualified, eligible, then not eligible.
Kitchen actually had already moved into the dorms at Tennessee State last summer and was working out with the team when word came that some of his classwork at Lithonia High School had been flagged by the NCAA Clearinghouse. He was told he’d have to take the classes over. So he packed up his bags and moved back to Atlanta.
Kitchen successfully completed those classes last month and then got official approval of his transcripts from the NCAA shortly after national signing day.
Georgia Tech, along with Ole Miss and several other schools, had gotten word about Kitchen’s imminent availability in January. With his academic hurdles cleared, the Yellow Jackets officially offered this week. Kitchen pounced on the opportunity.
“Actually Ole Miss was after me before Tech,” Kitchen said. “But I got qualified late in the process and everybody had already committed to them. They filled up, so it was too late. If I had gotten cleared earlier I probably would have signed with them. But, in the end, everything worked out for the best. Ain’t no place like home!”
There’s a reason Tech and others were willing to provide Kitchen a second chance. The kid can play, his high school coach says.
“He has a tremendous knack for the football,” Lithonia coach Marcus Jelks said. “He’s a great athlete for his size, very quick, very strong. He definitely helped us. He played center, defensive line, linebacker and special teams for us. He even ran the ball a few times. When Georgia Tech watched the film, they just kind of fell in love with him.”
Big-time college football had always seemed to be Kitchen’s destination. In fact, he had numerous major-college programs pursuing him in the fall of 2009 and was poised to commit to Auburn at that point. But the Tigers, Georgia Tech and the rest of his suitors dropped off after his first test scores were posted.
Tennessee State decided to take a chance on him and signed him in February of 2010. Kitchen continued to work on his college boards and he was able to achieve the NCAA’s eligibility standards that spring. He moved to Nashville that summer with every intention of continuing his football career with the Tigers. Then the NCAA Clearinghouse bomb exploded.
But Kitchen said he never lost hope. After a brief respite to regain his bearings, he resumed both his academic and athletic pursuits. He re-took the classes he needed online and joined the Lithonia football team four times a week for 6 a.m. workouts to stay in shape.
Of course, Kitchen has already heard the cynics who wonder how he’ll be able to handle Georgia Tech’s academic rigors after struggling so hard just meet eligibility requirements.
“I’ve just got to prove them wrong and show that I can do the work,” Kitchen said. “I know I can. I’m going to buckle down, man, no if, ands or buts about that. They already know what I can do on the field. I just have to prove it in the classroom.
“This whole thing has been a very humbling experience to go through, the whole process. But I got through it. Not too many people get to tell this story. So I plan on taking advantage of it.”
Kitchen becomes the 23rd signee in the Jackets’ 2011 class and the only defensive lineman.
“I’ve just got to come in and show them I know how to play and I know I can do that,” Kitchen said. “It’s just a matter of time. I’m not in a hurry. I’ve just got to show them what I can do, then I’ll get some PT.”
By Chip Towers, The College Recruiting Blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
125 comments Add your comment
1eyedJack
February 25th, 2011
11:05 am
Coach Fish Fry stumbles across a left over hushpuppie.
Diablo69
February 25th, 2011
11:08 am
Some people (sic) on this and other blogs seem to be missing the point. It is NOT that GT cannot recruit these type of players (overtly talented, but academically challenged) it IS that we typically do not recruit them because they are too risky. At GT there is no easy major (looking at you sports and hospitality majors). We simply cannot afford to throw away scholarships on players who will likely never see the field because they have no interest in calculating the area under a given curve.
This signing on the other hand is a very special case. Since national signing day has already passed and we have open scholarships remaining (I believe more than one) such a risk is warranted if the coaches and the player both believe the academics can be sorted out.
This has nothing to do with academic standards and everything to do with second chances.
fester
February 25th, 2011
11:15 am
WOULD THIS YOUNG MAN BE ABLE TO PLAY FOR DUKE? STANFORD? VANDERBILT?
YOU TECH PEOPLE TRY AND BRING UP ACADEMIC STANDARDS AS A CRUTCH BUT YOU ARE IN THE BOAT WITH EVERYONE ELSE. YOU HAVE TUDORS, SEND PLAYERS TO MORRIS BROWN TO TAKE CLASSES, GET CHEERLEADERS FROM GA STATE, YOU ALL ARE REALLY A PATHETIC BUNCH OF PEOPLE.
ED
February 25th, 2011
11:19 am
tech is clearly getting desperate. they have thrown their own standards out of the window. I guess AD danny is feeling the heat.
ted
February 25th, 2011
11:21 am
this is all the proof i need that if a playah wants to go to tech, they will/can get him in regardless. problem, most of the studs do not want to go to tech and play in a second tier conf, play in a joke of a stadium, play for a jerk in a high school offense.
kb
February 25th, 2011
11:22 am
Ramblin Man, On rivals and scout you can do a prospect search on any player that was ranked, goes back to 2002, Kitchens wasn’t ranked, if he were a 4 star recruit Auburn would have signed him and placed him in JUCO or prep school.I hope everything works out for him, but don’t try and make him out to be something he never was. Reality is PJ will never land any top prospects unless they want to be engineers or grew up being a Tech fan. Most likely even in that scenario it would be on the defensive side of the ball.
GTfan
February 25th, 2011
11:47 am
this kid had 12.5 sacks at a sophomore in the 3/ 4 set which he was all state and all county
MBC#1 Fan
February 25th, 2011
11:52 am
Congrats Jimmy, wish nothing but the best for you.
Jackets2010-11
February 25th, 2011
11:53 am
Why do Dawg fans need to comment today?
A vain attempt to regain some pride after the ongoing domination by Florida.
Just like the football game, you had them until you choked.
Two free throws to pull within two and have the Gators choke instead?
Not to be.
Your man Trey is too busy dreaming about NBA millions after he dumps u.
UGA VIIII
February 25th, 2011
12:16 pm
@jackets2010-2011, Florida your adopted big brother? Typical Nat living vicariously through another teams success against UGA. Go celebrate the 15 wins Tech’s had since 1957 over UGA, generations of domination.
kb
February 25th, 2011
12:31 pm
GTFAN , Kitchens never made an all state team, The last Lithonia player to be named all state was
in 2002.
Chip Towers
February 25th, 2011
1:07 pm
To all: Let’s give the kid the respect he deserves and get his name right. It’s Jimmie, with an “ie,” and Kitchen, with no “s.” Thanks.
4th and Long Gone
February 25th, 2011
1:12 pm
All you UGA fans you are saying Tech must not be so hard to get into … as was posted yesterday:
“Georgia Tech had the nation’s best average SAT score for football players, 1028 of a possible 1600, and best average high school GPA, 3.39 of a possible 4.0. But because its student body is apparently very smart, Tech’s football players still scored 315 SAT points lower than their classmates.”
And before you ask where that came from, it was from an AJC study, but the results have been cited in many places. Here is a link to where it was reported by US News and World Report:
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2008/12/30/athletes-show-huge-gaps-in-sat-scores
WnE
February 25th, 2011
1:25 pm
re:
4th and Long Gone
February 25th, 2011
1:12 pm
______________________
If the gap between GT FB Recruits and Regular Students is 315 points on the SAT as referenced by your post above; then that means that GT FB “statistically has to” admit more than 10% special admits, a number that is often thrown around by putzes & boot-lickin’ toadies to prove that GT’s Academics are so elite that GT cannot recruit better.
Little by little, more and more of the phony bullcrap myths concerning Academics & GT FB Recruiting are being debunked.
Pretty soon the excuse makers for Coach Kung Fu Panda will have no more excuses.
commonsense
February 25th, 2011
1:27 pm
common sense says that this kid was faced with a humbling experience. He realized that he may not get another shot with athletics so he put Academics first. He went back to school to fix the class(es) in question and then retook the tests that caused larger programs to turn away. Fortunate for him he will get a second chance not only athletically but also academically because he put forth the time to better himself in the classroom something most athletes from big time programs never have to do or take the time to do.
Dawg 1
February 25th, 2011
1:36 pm
Stop it…
Wish the kid luck and call it a day…
Nice Pick up for Tech; the kid seems excited about it.
Enough said
WnE
February 25th, 2011
1:41 pm
re:
commonsense
February 25th, 2011
1:27 pm
____________________
I have no problem with what you wrote above, but the majority of the smug, elite GT fans(unlike me) are catching heat because when other SAs that sign schollys with other colleges do the same things and overcome the same hurdles, they are called THUGS.
But when it happens at GT it is called an Horatio Alger story.
You can’t call everyone else’s players thugs and then when your players go through the same stuff, then you try and describe it differently.
The GT fans that aren’t like me are catching flack in this blog because of their hypocrisy on issues like this, not because the SA is bad.
Goldtimer
February 25th, 2011
1:43 pm
Good luck Jimmy Kitchens – don’t screw your Golden chance up.
DawginLex
February 25th, 2011
1:59 pm
Good grief people. Take off the homer glasses of whichever team you support and pull for this kid to make it in the classroom and on the field.
Good luck to the young man.
Jacket Man
February 25th, 2011
2:24 pm
WnE, how does it feel that, in just his time coming through high school, Jimmie has exhibited more drive and determination in his big toe than you’ll ever muster in your body during the course of your entire life?
Jimmie identified he had an issue, but rather than complaining, or just giving up, he worked hard to meet every requirement needed to get into every major football program in America. Not just GA Tech, but every program in America.
What most people don’t know is that the Jackets were quietly on top of Jimmie as he was getting all of his paperwork finalized. Most of the other programs had given up on him until they found out he had qualified, including Auburn and UGA (yes, the Bulldogs even inquired if their last minute noseguard fell through). But Coach Speed has been recruiting Jimmie when the others gave up on him..
GA Tech fans should be VERY happy this young man has signed on with our program. Jimmie is a very good talent coming in with a chip on his shoulder; may be on the field this Fall.
Techster
February 25th, 2011
2:48 pm
I hope that Jimmie will participate in our time honored tradition of Tickle Piling!!
WnE
February 25th, 2011
3:13 pm
re:
Jacket-Off Man
February 25th, 2011
2:24 pm
_________________
Don’t try to re-write history to make this story out to be more heroic than it really is.
If this SA were everything you claim he is in your bullcrap diatribe, then this SA would have not WAITED from DEC 2009 to FEB 2011 to take care of ONE TEST and ONE ENGLISH CLASS, he would have taken care of it in time to enroll in college by Aug. 2010 or Jan. 2011 at the LATEST.
You tell a great story, but the hard facts don’t back up your version of events.
Nice try you geeky-nerd-loser-boot-lickin’-toady, but still no cigar!
wrecked
February 25th, 2011
3:17 pm
Jacket man, do you realize what a sad light you put on the GT program , that a freshman that hasn’t played in a year may see playing time. Happy for Jimmie hope he continues his hard work.If you actually think the GT coaches pulled off a recruiting coup, think again, it would be a first for this staff.
Tweets that mention Jimmie Kitchen takes the long road back home to Georgia Tech | AJC College Sports Recruiting -- Topsy.com
February 25th, 2011
3:38 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by adam329, Georgia News. Georgia News said: Jimmie Kitchen takes the long road back home to Georgia Tech – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) http://bit.ly/gQbcTh #georgia [...]
John
February 25th, 2011
3:44 pm
I love how all the UGAggers convientintly fail to memtion that when GT signed this kid, he was academically qualified to attent every single SEC school as well. It’s all “if he couldn’t get into Auburn ….blah blah blah.” During the timeframe he couldn’t get into Auburn, he couldn’t get into tech either. He upgraded his academic resume, allowing him to go anywhere that still had room, meaning Auburn, UGA or anyone else could have signed him. In fact, there was inital question on whether or not he could sign a second LOI, so his recruitment was very hush hush. The coaches feared all ther other schools would come after him hard too.
John
February 25th, 2011
3:51 pm
WnE, GT football is only allowed 2 special admits a year, so yeah, that is about 10%.
WnE
February 25th, 2011
4:04 pm
re:
John
February 25th, 2011
3:51 pm
WnE, GT football is only allowed 2 special admits a year, so yeah, that is about 10%.
________________________________
If what you wrote above were legit and TRUE, then there’s no “statistical way” that the gap in SAT Scores between FB recruits and normal students would be as large as 315 points on the 2-part SAT.
With a gap that large, there has to be a “lesser standard” for FB recruits than there is for normal students, this is a “special admit” even though the GTAA doesn’t call them special admits so that they can stroke the Academic egos of the smug, snobbish, elitist GT fanbase (not me of course, the rest of them).
Basically what you’re saying doesn’t reconcile with simple arithmetic.
Ramblin Man
February 25th, 2011
4:21 pm
81 dog,
You fail again. You said GT fans say that these players can’t get in or can’t be recruited because of GTs academic standards and I pointed out to you that most of us think that it’s keeping up with the academic standards not making the cut to attend. I know for a fact that several recruits do not want to actually have to study or attend classes and that is why they chose certain schools that allow them to take useless majors or never even declare a major. I am not one of the GT elitist that believe only rocket scientists attend GT and know that many football/basketball players are well below the average GT student. I worry that this kid will not make it but I hope that with tutoring and the humbling experience he has gone through he actually takes his studies seriously and excels at GT on and off the field. I also do not bash UGA when they take kids like this. I do bash UGA for taking thugs like Crowell and for letting over 90% of thier football recruits attend a school that they never could have had a chance at other wise.
Ramblin Man
February 25th, 2011
4:31 pm
kb,
How could AU put him in a JUCO if he failed the NCAA clearinghouse? Please correct me if I am wrong but don’t most teams that JUCO players do so becuase they do not meet minimum standards or the school feels they would fair better if they could take a lighter class load to prepare for the rigors of college. Kitchen failed to graduate that has nothing to do with prep school or junior college. I have no doubt in my mind as the article states that he would have signed with Ole Miss or another SEC program if his academic issues had cleared up before signing day.
Ramblin Man
February 25th, 2011
4:40 pm
I am also aware that you can go back several years and check on recruits and if you look there is no mention of Kitchen for the 2010 class when he was originally recruited. There is also no mention of any other schools looking at him but GT, which we all know by the article is not true.
Greg
February 25th, 2011
5:17 pm
How many stars was he in 2009?
Mike
February 25th, 2011
5:23 pm
81dog
you’re a dumbass. we didn’t fill all our spots. we had an opening. we’re taking a change. if we did like you and recruitied your class this year, 2/3 of them would flunk out after year 1 and half of the remaining would be gone by year 2. we don’t have history, sports mgmt, music majors like you do
Alex
February 25th, 2011
5:29 pm
Jimmie’s gonna bring the kitchen sink against uga this year!
ACC Fan
February 25th, 2011
6:07 pm
Speed and agility are important in defensive lineman, especially in a 3-4. Check the weights of other college defensive lineman and you will see he is not necessarily underweight although I’m sure Tech will build him up some more.
GT '08
February 25th, 2011
6:10 pm
Glad to see we got a possible big time DE prospect in this year.
About academic standards:
1) It honestly isn’t that hard to get into GT this is for 2 reasons:
a) There are not tens of thousands of applicants every year like UGA, AU, and Ohio State, thus there is less competition for slots and thus lower initial requirements to get in. UGA increased their standards to get accepted just a few years ago largely based on the number of applicants it receives yearly.
b) Tech realizes that if you SURVIVE to be a sophomore at Tech then you probably deserve to be there regardless of less than stellar academics in high school. (Let’s be honest, it isn’t like high school grades in this country are that great of a litmus test anyways.)
2. It is INCREDIBLY hard to stay in school at Tech. Every major requires a lab science (i.e. calculus based physics / chemistry) AND calculus as part of the freshman curriculum. How many people out there like calculus much less being forced to take several classes at one of the toughest institutions in the country?
As to how that effects recruiting? I can only imagine it has more of a negative effect than a positive one. Being a Tech grad myself I hate to admit it but, if I would have been able to play college ball after high school a big party school and not having to take calculus would appeal over the HELL that is GT calculus/physics. I can’t blame a recruit for not wanting to be forced into those classes and going to play ball elsewhere.
Having said ALL that, any person that will belittle a young man for picking a school to play ball has to be considered immature at best. Be glad for the kid because he could certainly be up to more nefarious endeavors for sure.
kb
February 25th, 2011
7:10 pm
Ramblin, Juco you need a high school diploma,he had that. If Auburn would have wanted him that bad, he would gone to juco or prep school route.
kb
February 25th, 2011
7:48 pm
Ramblin, Why does PJ offer so many UGA recruits? Why would you brand Crowell a Thug? Everyone
wanted this thug, that just happened to be the #1 running back coming out of High school in the nation.
Have you ever met Issiah or his parents?
gt4ever
February 25th, 2011
10:07 pm
One DL signed in this class, did I read this wrong…… We are in DEEP, do do….
Ramblin Man
February 25th, 2011
10:31 pm
kb,
I have no problem with most of the future or past UGA recruits and would welcome most of them if they chose to play for GT. As for Crowell no I have never met him in person. Without specifics let’s just say I know people who would know the thugs or thug wanna be. It is also the persona he wants people to believe if you go by his facebook page. If he is not a thug then he goes to a lot of trouble to try and appear to be one and make people think he is hard.
Ramblin Man
February 25th, 2011
10:39 pm
gt4ever,
I too was concernd about this at first, especially when you look at how GT lost two DEs just before signing day. Then I took another look at the roster. I knew GT had three good recruits that redshirted last year and am looking forward to seeing what Green, McCoy, and Williams add to the line this year, then I noticed that there are 11 DLs on the roster. If you notice GT is heavily recruiting DLs for next years class and that’s when we really need them. I think the coaching staff filled most of the needs and are hoping the athletes can develop into ABs, WRs, or DBs. What we fans have to hope for is a decent season so that we can hopefully have a good recruiting class for next year.
JM
February 25th, 2011
11:09 pm
Congrats to Kitchens for the hard work. Keep working hard and you’ll do fine.
woebegong
February 26th, 2011
6:16 am
Ramblinman,
Crowell is like a lot of young kids these days. Remember he is only 18 years old. The internet allows a lot of kids to create a personna to try to impress his peers or friends and that is what he did or is still doing for all I know. From what I have read so far about him, it sounds like he has some growing up to do. College will be a big step for him but I believe he will mature well. To label him a thug based on what some of your friends heard and repeated to you, kind of makes you seem like you are a little immature, as that is usually how rumors get started. You may be right in your evaluation, but neither you or I or probably 99% of the people on this blog, are in a position to pass judgement on this kids character. Let him have his fun, because he now has a lot of responsibility riding on his shoulders and his athletic prowness has made him an instant celbrity, with all the negatives and positives involved with it. This thug thing you seem to like to use in deswcribing UGA atheletes is no more justified than calling all GT fans, students and alumni, Nerds. I would wager to say, and this is just my opinion, if the football players you have on GT were at UGA, they would get those tickets for various driving infractions, just like the present UGA players do. The Atlanta police have a lot bigger fish to fry usually, than to be concerned about some college kids getting into a little trouble. The Athens police are there, largely due to the fact that UGA is there, and can and do concentrate more on the students at the university. I would wager a bet that you will not see this type of conduct tolerated at UGA from now on, and the football players know, it will not be tolerated. The new athletic director has made that quite clear to CMR and his staff, and it will have an effect positively.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAWGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
GT Fan
February 26th, 2011
8:52 am
WnE and 81dog … you two need to meet, and fall in love. A couple of losers you two are. And 81dog … I’m assuming 81 is the year you graduated from UGA? So that would make you 50, 51, or 52 at the youngest, and you are spewing your immaturity on these blogs???
And WnE … sir, maam, madame, son or whatever you are, you have WAY too much time on your hands. Get a life.
Oh, and Good Luck to Jimmie!!
booger
February 26th, 2011
9:21 am
get your hopes up tekkies………………
WE OWN YOU AND THIS KID OR NOT MEANS NADDA,ZILCH, NOTHING TO CHANGING THE YEARLY BEAT DOWN YOU CONTINUE TO INHALE …………………
CPJ IS A PUNK.
SO ENJOY.
LATER.
Petra
February 26th, 2011
9:30 am
Awesome, congrats
http://mydietoptions.com/
5150 UOAD
February 26th, 2011
9:36 am
I like the guy, he will put in the work I hope. he knows the New Opportunity he has.
booger
February 26th, 2011
9:39 am
CPJ is a punk.
LOSER.
Rodney Dangerfield
February 26th, 2011
9:57 am
Jimmie Kitchen – There are a lot of douche bags out there and it seems that alot of them post on this blog. Don’t worry about them.
You were taken to a place where alot of kids just give up. But you didn’t give up. You didn’t choose the easy way. You had a dream and decided to achieve it. I know alot of kids that have dreams but are far less motivated and decide that living with grandma and living the “thug life” is so much more appealing.
I wish you luck and hope you stick with it because it will pay huge dividends throughout your life.
dawgfan
February 26th, 2011
10:17 am
It is simply hysterical sitting back and watching Techies make fools of themselves trying to spin this. This is classic. It sucks for Kitchen that he has to play for such sorry fans. I’m sure he’s grown up a bit and not the same guy he was a couple of years ago. Good for him. That’s not the point. The point is that Techies are lying whiners and full of BS double standards. If this guy had signed with UGA after this checkered past you Techie pukes would be calling him every name in the book. Thug, felon, illiterate. You name it. You are simply a joke and we all are laughing at you.
Thanks.
4th and Long Gone
February 26th, 2011
10:32 am
woebegone,
A very good post. I agree with most of everything you say, except to blame all of the UGA arrests on the police having nothing else to do but look for football players. There are good guys and “less good” guys at every school. Yes, if a player has the chance to be a superstar, everyone will give him much more leeway in overlooking potential character issues or past troubles. But I do believe that discipline can be an attitude that is much more enforced on some campuses than others. CMR is a very nice, very good person. His own kids are very nice, very good. So I personally think that perhaps he thinks that all kids will act appropriately and doesn’t emit a strong discipline attitude. CPJ on the other hand, while I am sure he is equally a good person, does come across as a disciplinarian. Even down to his controversial stand on players taking official recruiting visits after committing. I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t think that CPJ would kick anyone off the program who wouldn’t conform to his rules. The CPJ haters would say he is arrogant, thinking his system can win without the needed player. The CPJ lovers would say that it takes discipline to play in his offense, so discipline is required. At any rate, I think that even good people are more lax if the consequences aren’t there. For example, I might go look at the SI Swimsuit site from my home computer, but wouldn’t risk it from my work computer. I wouldn’t want something as small as that getting me fired at work, so I don’t do it. At home, it is not bad enough that my wife will get (too) mad at me over, so I might go check it out. Just an example, but the expected consequences do play a role in determining behavior. I do think that CMR is a very good guy and being tough is hard for him. If I were the AD, I would encourage him to have a “bad cop” on staff to offset his “good cop” demeanor. I thought the defensive coordinator might play that part until he got too carried away in the FL game.
Oh well, best of luck to Jimmie Kitchen … I do know he has his work cut out for him, but maybe since he has had to work to get this far, his attitude will be such that he will actually be better than others who haven’t had to work as hard. (I know that is looking at the glass half full, but here is hoping)