Oregon State’s Kjos played high school football in Ohio

By Kevin Hampton
Gazette-Times reporter

When Casey Kjos left Middletown, Ohio, to join the Oregon State football team, he had no idea he’d be heading back to his old stomping grounds with the Beavers.

Kjos, a sophomore receiver, grew up in Tacoma, Wash., and wanted to return to the Pacific Northwest to play college football after spending his high school years in Ohio.

He signed with OSU and played some as a freshman last year. He was surprised to find out that the team was headed to play at Cincinnati in the second game of this season.

He expects to see some old friends from high school this week.

“This year was the first I’ve heard of us ever having a chance to play Cincinnati, but when I heard, I was really excited,” Kjos said. “It’s a big game. It was good to hear that.”

Kjos left Washington to spend his high school years with his cousin Jon Kitna. Kitna was the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals at the time.

The move was made so Kjos could develop as an athlete and person in a good environment.

“We have a pretty big family and we’ve always been really, really close,” Kjos said. “He’s always been a pretty big part of my life, especially after I moved in with him, he pretty much played a father figure role for me, so he’s played a huge role in my life for a while.”

Life with a professional athlete was a little strange at first. Kjos said fans would come up while they were in public and want to talk to Kitna, and the students at his high school sometimes would ask to meet the quarterback.

Any tendency for Kjos to be star struck was gone after a short time in the Kitna household. He realized that Kitna was just like anyone else.

Kitna was, however, the perfect role model for a high school receiver. He tossed passes to Kjos, taught him to watch film and prepared him mentally for the next level.

Kitna gave Kjos spiritual guidance as well.

“Our family’s always been strong in our faith,” Kjos said. “We’re Christians and he’s been a big role in my life in that. Not only did he teach me a lot about football, but he taught me to live my life right and live it for Christ.”

Kitna was there for Kjos when it came time to choose a college.

The Bearcats gave him a look, but Kjos eventually went with OSU after attending a football camp in Corvallis and meeting Mike Riley and the staff.

“My cousin’s always been a big part of a lot of my decisions. I look to him for support and he gave me guidance in a lot of ways,” Kjos said. “I made the choice to come out to a West Coast school when I first started (being recruited). I was open to pretty much anywhere, but I kind of had my heart set on coming back out to the West Coast so I could be by some of my other family.”

Kjos played on special teams in 2006, but back surgery last spring set him back a little and then he missed a chunk of fall camp after falling and rupturing the bursa in his hip.

He did not dress for the Utah game and most likely will redshirt this year. He said he was making strides during the practices he attended.

“I think I’ve been doing pretty well,” Kjos said. “They make it as simple as possible for us to be able to catch on and learn the offense. They put a lot of stuff in right away in camp, but from being here last year, it was a lot easier this year than last year. It’s been fun with Lyle (Moevao) and Sean (Canfield) this year, getting to catch balls from both of them.”

Whether Kjos plays this season or not, this week will be his homecoming game.

“It’s going to be a huge game for the team, but especially (for) me being able to go back (to) my hometown,” he sid. “It’s going to be a great experience.”