George Kittle

Born October 9 1993 in Madison Wisconsin George Krieger Kittle grew up in a family steeped in athletic excellence His father Bruce was a fouryear letterman and cocaptain of Iowas 1982 Rose Bowl squad before becoming a college football coach while his mother Jan Krieger earned Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Hall of Fame honors and AllAmerica recognition as a basketball player at Drake University After moving to Iowa in 2000 Kittle attended multiple high schools before finishing at Norman High School in Norman Oklahoma where he committed to play for the University of Iowa Kittle played at Iowa from 2012 to 2016 under head coach Kirk Ferentz initially buried on the depth chart behind multiple tight ends His role expanded as a junior in 2015 when he caught twenty receptions for 290 yards and six touchdowns ranking sixth in the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns As a senior Kittle recorded his best statistical game against North Dakota State with five receptions for 110 yards finishing the season with 22 receptions for 314 yards and four touchdowns He completed his collegiate career with 48 receptions for 737 yards and ten touchdowns The San Francisco 49ers selected Kittle in the fifth round 146th overall of the 2017 NFL draft reuniting the 6foot4 250pound tight end with Iowa teammate CJ Beathard Kittles combination of elite blocking ability and explosive receiving skillsparticularly his yardsaftercatch prowessrevolutionized the tight end position December 9 2018 showcased his dominance when he set a franchise record with 210 receiving yards in just the first half against Denver becoming the first 49ers tight end to surpass 1000 receiving yards in a season Three weeks later he broke Travis Kelces singleseason receiving yards record for a tight end finishing with 1377 yards while also becoming the first tight end to lead the NFL in yards after catch 870 His most memorable moment came December 8 2019 against New Orleans when he caught a crucial fourthandtwo pass for 39 yardsseventeen of which he gained while being facemasked by Saints cornerback Marcus Williams while carrying two other defenderssetting up the gamewinning field goal in a 4846 thriller Through nine seasons Kittle has compiled 8008 career receiving yards and 595 receptions with 52 touchdowns His four career 1000yard seasons rank tied for secondmost by a tight end in NFL history behind only Travis Kelce while his 6390 receiving yards through his first 100 games rank thirdmost by a tight end alltime Kittle has earned seven Pro Bowl selections and two Firstteam AllPro honors 2019 2023 ranking third in 49ers history in receiving yards behind only Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens Off the field Kittle married his college sweetheart former Iowa basketball player Claire Till in April 2019 A professional wrestling enthusiast who uses Pentas Cero Miedo taunt after first downs Kittle has appeared in commercials for the NFL Little Caesars Old Spice Zenni Optical and Ritz Crackers while establishing himself as one of the most charismatic personalities in professional football