The Wisconsin Badgers have extended a transfer portal offer to an intriguing defensive lineman from a smaller school.
Langden Kitchen, a sophomore from Northwest Missouri State University, had limited offers out of high school and ultimately chose to stay close to home as a Missouri native. The defensive lineman played two seasons with Northwest Missouri before entering his name into the transfer portal days ago in search of a jump in competition.
Kitchen stands in at 6-feet-7-inches, and 270-pounds with a combination of both extreme power and agility when playing along the defensive line. The defensive lineman is also a high-motor player, the type that Wisconsin has exclusively looked for on the defensive side of the football.
Kitchen played a total of 20 games in two years for Northwest Missouri totaling 30 tackles during that time as well as 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Kitchen also had ten tackles for loss during his tenure, really taking a step forward this past season where he played significant snaps in 11 games for Northwest Missouri.
The talented defensive lineman ended the season with his best collegiate play to date, recording four sacks in the final five games as well as six tackles for loss and both of his career forced fumbles. Kitchen has been one of those unique players that has simply needed time on the field against other competition in order to improve his game as a sort of iron-sharpens-iron type of player.
Wisconsin Badgers Offer Langden Kitchen Alongside Oklahoma State, Cal
The Wisconsin Badgers are one of the first programs to contact Kitchen and arguably could become the program to land the defensive lineman in the future due to the playing time that can be offered.
Kitchen also currently has offers from programs such as Cal, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Iowa State. The only major difference between the programs will be the defense, as Cal often runs a unique 2-4-5 with two rush ends thus shifting Kitchen into the middle of the line. Oklahoma State uses a more traditional 3-3-5 that would be much closer to the defense that Kitchen is used to playing in currently.
Some Wisconsin Badgers fans might be upset that Kitchen is not a massive recruit in the portal, but the Badgers are continuing specific trends. Coach Luke Fickell is a staunch believer in recruiting hard-workers and players who are football junkies, and Kitchen would certainly fit that specific description of a player.
This trend can be seen with small school additions such as Elijah Hills (Albany), John Pius (William & Mary), and Nyzier Fourqurean (Grand Valley State) among many others. The smaller school transfer may not be the most productive players thus far for Fickell, but that comes with the territory when players take a jump in competition.
Every player inherently comes with some sort of risk, but despite being a small school player Kitchen is still an excellent athlete on the field and clearly someone who the Wisconsin Badgers feel comfortable investing in.
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