Kent Kitzmann is a former fullback with the
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...
from 1975–1978. Kitzmann starred as a running back at
Rochester John Marshall in High School, leading the Rockets to the Class AA state football championships in both 1973 and 1974. He also excelled in the
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
, heaving one of the longest throws in state high school history while as a senior at John Marshall in 1975. He was recruited to Minnesota to play for
Cal Stoll
Calvin C. Stoll (December 12, 1923 – August 25, 2000) was an American football player and coach. He played Defensive End for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 1948 and 1949 seasons. Before graduating from Minnesota in June 1950, Stoll was nam ...
and in 1976 and 1977 he led the Gophers in rushing both years. Kitzmann’s finest hour on the gridiron came in a game against Illinois in 1977 at Champaign’s Memorial Stadium. When he carried the ball a
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
record 57 times for an astounding 266 yards in a 21–0 victory over the Illini,
helping the Gophers to virtually secure their first bowl invitation in fifteen years.
References
Living people
American football fullbacks
Minnesota Golden Gophers football players
Sportspeople from Rochester, Minnesota
Players of American football from Minnesota
Year of birth missing (living people)
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