Caden Kitler ready to prove himself in the SEC

With center being one of the positions Arkansas had to fill going into the 2025 season, head coach Sam Pittman and offensive line coach Eric Mateos hit the transfer portal and zoned in on ensuring it would be someone ready to contribute immediately.

The staff landed 6-foot-3, 305-pound Caden Kitler, who joined the Hogs with 13 starts in 17 games with UCF under his belt and blocked for a Knights offense that averaged 447.8 yards per game, including gashing opposing defenses for 248.1 yards on the ground.

A native of The Colony, Texas, Kitler earned recent national recognition when he was one of 40 centers named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, given annually to college football’s best center.

“With Caden, it was like, can we get a guy who’s done the position, played the position in big moments, in hostile environments, who can handle the pressure of making the calls,” Mateos said. “At center, you want a personality that you vibe with as the line coach. I’ve been really blessed to have coached some awesome centers in my career and when you and your center are on the same page, man it’s really hard to be bad. When you’re not, it’s not very fun.”

What Caden Kitler provides for the Hogs

In recent memory, UCF has made a reputation of having high-flying offenses and Kitler played in part in some of it while calling the shots in the trenches.

He started two games for a the Knights in 2023 when they finished the season at No. 8 nationally in total offense, then started 11 contests last fall when they were 14th overall that included registering four 500+ yard performances.

Kitler concluded the 2024 season ranked 56th out of 301 centers with an overall offensive grade of 70.9, per Pro Football Focus.

Mateos feels that adding Kitler to the mix up front will drastically help at picking up blitzes in the middle, something the Hogs struggled with in 2024.

“He’s a junkie when it comes to football,” Mateos said. ” I think that’s when you recruit and you talk to them and you ask them questions (about a game), Hey, you did this on this play?

“I did it because of this, this, and this. Okay, that’s a real answer.  Whereas, like, “Oh, my coach told me to,” That’s not a real answer. Same thing like any other position, you’re always looking at do they love the game?”

Arkansas’ depth at center behind Caden Kitler

Kitler “was a little banged up” and missed the past few days of fall camp practices, which has provided an opportunity for other players to get reps and Mateos is excited for what he has at the position.

“I feel a lot better this year than last year,” Mateos said. “You like to have four (centers), and I feel good about it. Right now, I think we could put three out there and run us through the game and win an SEC game. I do. I think all three of those guys know the offense.”

Also competing for the center spot is Bryant alumnus Brooks Edmonson, who appeared in all 13 games last season mostly on special teams and started the Liberty Bowl against Texas Tech, plus true freshman Kash Courtney has been working there.

“Sometimes when you put in two and three center, it’s like, hey, the line goes the wrong way, you know, you have something like that, but we’re not having those,” Mateos said. “To me, there’s a lot of pressure, like, “Hey, you guys are snapping a ball to Taylen Green.

“So, if you make the wrong protection call and you mess up that guy, we got a problem, okay? So I think they feel that ownership of “Hey, man, I got these vets around me, I got a veteran quarterback, and Taylen helps us a lot with that too.”

Kitler and the Razorbacks will hit the field on Saturday for Scrimmage One of 2025 Fall Camp before getting Sunday off.

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