Tito ‘blessed’ with great coaches at Ike

Eisenhower’s Kingston Tito is generally regarded as the top NCAA Division I prospect in Southwest Oklahoma but just a few minutes with the big, mobile senior tells a different story; that he has other priorities in his life.

“I’m a big church guy,” the 6-2, 240-pound senior said. “I play the drums and sing at church and that is a big part of my life.”

Of course, he also says that football is a big part of his life and with a chance to play at the DI level is a golden opportunity and he’s thankful for Head Coach Javon Harris and the Ike staff.

“I just wish Coach Harris would have gotten here a couple years earlier,” he said. “We are blessed to have four coaches who played at the level. Their knowledge of what it takes is great for those of us who have that same dream.”

Tito knows the road to a good DI school involves other things besides being a great player, you have to be a good person and make good grades.

“I really love math and I’m taking Algebra III this semester and I love the challenge,” he said. “Ms. (Anna) Beede makes it challenging and I’m as competitive in the classroom as I am in football. But I really enjoy all my classes.”

The big guys up front love to eat and Tito is no different.

“My mom makes the best biscuits and gravy, they are just amazing,” Tito said. “I can usually make a good meal out of four or five of them smothered in her gravy. To me there is no better meal.”

The Eagles will take a 1-1 record to Altus Friday and Tito says he and his teammates are laser-driven about this next contest.

“We had a couple of turnovers that hurt us and Mac’s defensive front caused us some problems,” he said. “Yes sir, the work on the offensive line is never over and going against Mac can only help us get better.”

Tito continues to learn new skills as the Ike coaches are eager to keep the senior on the field as much as possible. In addition to tight end on offense he is also the “Blood” linebacker on defense and is the personal protector on punts.

He used to be primarily a defensive player and that side of the ball was his favorite. However, finding his way into the end zone has changed that perspective.

“I used to really love defense more but now with getting to score touchdowns, it’s been fun to enjoy that feeling,” he said of his journey into the end zone both catching passes and last week running the football.

Like most seniors Tito is thinking about life after football and he seems intent on coming home to Lawton.

“I will probably come back to Lawton at some point and I’m thinking about being a firefighter but right now I have some time to think about it,” he said.

While he will continue to get offers in the coming weeks and months, at present he’s got a school in mind.

“I am thinking a good deal about Tulsa,” he said. “I may commit to them at some point but right now I’m wanting to do my best to help us get to the playoffs.”

Before District 5A-2 action starts in a couple of weeks, Altus is the priority that has his attention.

“Altus is using a different offense this year which is a spread instead of the one (flexbone) they used last year,” he said, “They have a good running quarterback and we are going to have to tackle well. They throw the ball some but haven’t done much passing in their first two games.”

Whatever the outcome Friday, you can expect No. 44 to be in the thick of the action throughout the game against the Bulldogs at Hightower Stadium.