Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens was a starter at Iowa in 2012 when a freshman named George Kittle showed up. Kittle was a backup whose primary job was playing on the scout team, and he’s motivated by some of those memories.
Kittle said he’s looking forward to going after Hitchens and fellow Chiefs linebacker Ben Niemann, who also played at Iowa, and Kittle noted that Hitchens in particular used to get the better of him on the Hawkeyes’ practice field.
“I’m looking forward to block the Iowa linebackers, Niemann and Hitchens,” Kittle said, via the San Jose Mercury News. “Hitch used to bully me in practice when I was on scout team in Iowa, so I’m going to give it back to him a couple times.”
Not many people can bully Kittle now that he’s one of the best tight ends in the NFL. But he hasn’t forgotten the time when he was the freshman getting pushed around on the practice field.