Wisconsin Native Heads To Super Bowl As Star Player

MADISON, WI — George Kittle, the San Francisco 49ers star tight end, will play in his first Super Bowl this weekend, a journey that took him from his beginnings in Madison all the way to the sport's pinnacle.

George was born on Oct. 9, 1993 in Madison, the son of Bruce and Jan Kittle. Bruce Kittle was an offensive lineman at Iowa and a member of the Hawkeyes 1982 Rose Bowl team. According to a Des Moines Register story, Jan was a star college basketball player at Drake.

According to the report, George grew up to love the Badger Marching Band, and loved star running back Ron Dayne. His family moved, and George played football at Cedar Falls High School in Iowa and later Norman High School in Oklahoma.

According to an ESPN report, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz recruited George. When he arrived on campus, he was 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds. He red-shirted his freshman season, grew one inch and added 50 pounds. By the time George was a senior, Kittle amassed 737 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns.

San Francisco drafted George in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He quickly caught on.

After posting 515 receiving yards during his rookie year in 2017, George's production exploded in 2018, catching 88 passes for 1,377 yards and five touchdowns.

This year, he caught 85 passes for 1,053 yards and five more touchdowns.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, George — a huge pro wrestling fan — met his personal hero during the run-up to the Super Bowl. He met Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson. “I was up on stage and they said, ‘OK, you’re going to walk out and The Rock’s going to introduce you. I was like, ‘Who? The Rock?!’ I turn around and all of a sudden he’s chest to chest with me. I almost fell off the stage. It was insane,” he was quoted in the Mercury News.