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Muskegon’s Recarder Kitchen ‘Blessed’ with Offer from Michigan

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Muskegon’s Recarder Kitchen ‘Blessed’ with Offer from Michigan

All Trieu
| Special to The Detroit News

Michigan offered a scholarship to Muskegon sophomore Recarder Kitchen when he visited for the Wolverines’ home game against Texas.

Kitchen’s high school coaches, college coaches and national recruiting site evaluators all agree on his talents. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he doesn’t look like your average sophomore, and that big frame was already there last season when he made an impact on the college team as a freshman.

Additionally, he has a wrestling background. While schools see him as a defensive lineman, he plays both sides of the ball and by all accounts has the work ethic needed to take advantage of those tools.

“The first thing that stands out about Kitchen is his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame,” said 247Sports national scout Hudson Standish. “When it comes to our first sophomore Top 100 rankings, it’s rare to find a prospect with the combination of size, attributes and production that Kitchen displayed while helping Muskegon to a state championship.”

Last season, Kitchen rotated with older players and still managed 50 tackles (19 for loss), 7.5 sacks, 38 pressures, two pass breakups, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Early in his highlight tape, he runs after one of Warren De La Salle’s ball carriers. An unusual spot to see a player that big, that young with that type of foot speed, but also determined to make the play.

“The physical tools are all there, but he also plays with a fervent effort,” Standish said. “Kitchen may be able to get off the line of scrimmage with his excellent snap anticipation, but he can just as easily run the football 40 yards downfield to save a touchdown if necessary. Kitchen’s athletic profile with encouraging track and field markings, plus wrestling experience, also provide significant value to his evaluation.”

Michigan’s recruiting history in Muskegon has been sparse of late. The Wolverines signed defensive tackle Terrance Taylor in the 2005 class. He went on to be an All-Big Ten selection and a fourth-round NFL Draft pick.

The most notable recruit around Muskegon at the time was star defensive end/wide receiver Ronald Johnson, who was thought to be headed to Michigan but ultimately chose USC. The Wolverines recruited Cameron Martinez, who signed with Ohio State and then transferred to Boston College.

Kitchen has plenty of options to leave the state, with Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Iowa State and Indiana all making offers. But he’s quickly impressed by the crowd at Michigan Stadium and his first contact with defensive line coach Lou Esposito.

“At that point, I was really blessed and humbled to get an offer from such a great school,” he said. “Coach Esposito had come out to talk to me and my other teammates, and he did and he took me aside and told me he loved what I do and offered me,”

Kitchen is in no hurry and is focused on helping Muskegon become state champions again.

He also said he hopes to play more games for Michigan this season.

247Sports projects him as the No. 5 edge defender in the class of 2027 and the No. 1 sophomore in Michigan.

Wolverines offer 4-star defenseman

Toledo Catholic Central four-star junior Victor Singleton was offered to him by Michigan after his visit to the game against Texas.

Singleton (6-foot-1, 165 pounds) has offers from Ohio State, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and many more.

It was his first visit to Michigan, but he has already booked a return trip for the Sept. 21 showdown with USC.

More information

Recarder Kitchen profile

Victor Singleton Profile

Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for 247Sports. He has appeared on the Big Ten Network’s annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly on detroitnews.com.

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