Antonio Kite’s journey from young basketball phenom his community couldn’t wait to see in high school to football prospect his state can’t wait to see in college is complete.
The rising Anniston senior defensive back announced today via social media today his commitment to play football for Alabama.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Kite chose Alabama over finalists Tennessee, Central Florida, Florida State and South Carolina.
“I felt at home, and the coaches showed me love,” Kite said by phone, after his announcement. “I really feel like they were true. They don’t tell no lies.”
Kite’s commitment means more than his choice of school for football. It also means his choice of sport beyond high school. Kite said he has no plans to play basketball in college, though his high school football coach wouldn’t rule out basketball somewhere in Kite’s future,
“He reminds me of Charlie Ward,” said Anniston coach Rico White, referring to Florida State’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who also played basketball for the Seminoles and enjoyed an NBA career. “I wouldn’t be shocked if one day that happened.”
Kite played football on youth levels through the middle school, including the two years he moved to Baltimore for family reasons, between sixth and eighth grades. He moved back to Anniston before his freshman year and played basketball only, saying he was “tired.”
He sat out of football as a freshman and sophomore at Anniston.
“What people don’t really know, I was in love with football before I was in love with basketball.” he said.
White said people reached out to him when he arrived at Anniston in 2018 to brag on Kite’s football prowess, but White sensed that basketball was Kite’s priority. That changed when Kite approached White about playing.
“He said, “I want to be all around,'” White said.
Kite returned to football as a junior in 2020, after a two-year absence. Playing cornerback then safety, he intercepted six passes.
The day he put on pads, he impressed White.
“I was wowed,” the coach said. “It’s amazing, just to see a kid who can excel at any sport and any position. He’s so athletic.
“More than anything, I was impressed with how he picked things up.”
Kite showed out with measurables and more as a defensive back. He’s taller than 6-feet and has elite athleticism, smarts and a willingness to play physically.
Major college offers started rolling in last November, and an athlete known previously as a basketball standout suddenly had more options.
“I was kind of shocked at first,” he said. “My coaches sat me down and told me what it all means.”
With a right coaching, a 6-2 defensive back has potentially more professional prospects than a 6-2 guard, even with Kite’s ubiquitous and star-quality skills.
“I feel like, if I played basketball, I could’ve been in the NBA,” he said. “Size really doesn’t matter.”
One season of high school football made Kite a first-team selection for the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 4A all-state team.
Then he reached the pinnacle as a high school basketball player, teaming with transfer standout and long-time friend Malcolm Carlisle to lead Anniston to a 4A state basketball title, Anniston’s first since 2009.
The Bulldogs got over the top after losses in the Northeast Regional finals two years in a row. Kite was a first-team all-state pick and 4A player of the year. It was his third all-state selection.
The talk-of-the-town middle-schooler became the varsity hope of his billing after lighting up area gyms with his flare and flip-switch dominance. His Division I basketball offers included Alabama.
Kite will, of course, play his senior high school basketball season. Those skills, however, will stay in his high school locker and in the memories of a wowed hometown.
He’ll become a football prospect for a legendary college program enjoying one of its greatest runs, having won six national titles under Nick Saban to match the six it won under Bear Bryant.
Kite’s slight-of-hand drives will give way to getting his hands on opponents’ passes. He’ll do it under Saban, a former defensive back who has placed several players at those positions in the NFL.
“It shows the kids and the community and everyone that you can blossom right where you are,” White said. “It’s up to you, how you grow.”
Kite said he’s qualified academically to play as a freshman at Alabama and hopes to do just that.
“I’m expecting to play, of course, but that’s going to come down to me and my work ethic,” he said. “My work ethic is very high, so I should be playing.”
As for his senior year of football and basketball at Anniston, his goals are simple.
“I just want to win at both,” he said. “That would make my senior year great.”
