Ex Florida QB Jalen Kitna commits to UAB after child pornography charges get dropped

After an arrest and since dropped felony charges that led to his dismissal from Florida, Jalen Kitna has decided to continue his career at UAB, ESPN reported . The sophomore quarterback has already been admitted to the university and plans to visit campus on Wednesday, according to the outlet. Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, was arrested in November 2022 on five child pornography charges after Gainesville Police discovered he shared an image of child sexual abuse material on Discord, a social media platform.

He was dismissed from the school in December. The charges were dropped upon reaching a plea deal in July in which he pleaded no contest to two second degree misdemeanors. He also given six months probation. In August, Kitna broke his silence about the case. “Out of respect to the legal process I have chosen to remain silent the last 8 months,” Kitna said in a statement to TMZ , “knowing the accusations levied against me as a teenager were not accurate and would be proven to be not true.

The extensive 6 month long investigation brought the prosecution to the conclusion I knew all along — this was not a child pornography case.” According to ESPN, UAB coach Trent Dilfer and athletic director Mark Ingram said Kitna was vetted thoroughly before his admission to the school. “Initial headlines can be hard to get past, even if they don’t hold up to the scrutiny of the legal process over time,” Dilfer said in a statement.

“UAB and the Department of Athletics have performed extensive due diligence, and I have personally looked at the facts of this case and the thorough investigation, and I’ve had candid conversations with Jalen and his parents. I firmly believe Jalen learned valuable lessons and will carry himself well and show great character as a member of our community.

Otherwise, he would not be at UAB.” Kitna issued a statement as well to ESPN, expressing how “grateful” he is for the second chance opportunity. “I acknowledge that I made naive decisions that I deeply regret and have since learned from,” Kitna said. “As a result, I took responsibility by pleading no contest to second degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges related to those decisions.

“However, I firmly believe that UAB is the perfect fit for me. I consider myself fortunate to be in Birmingham, surrounded by an incredible support system, having found a church family, and being able to take advantage of the numerous resources offered by the university.” Kitna was the backup quarterback at Florida and only appeared in four games as a Gator, all of which were in his sophomore year.

In those four appearances, he completed 10 of 14 pass attempts for 181 yards and one touchdown. He joins a UAB team that finished 4 8 overall and 3 5 in the American Athletic Conference last year..