I've watched him a lot from the stands. Very slow. Nobody should be surprised at those combine numbers. Canes fans got excited about him only because so few players have been worth caring about in recent years. It was ridiculous when he was been projected to 4.55 or lower.
The guy does have very good instincts. Much better than Holland. That can't be emphasized enough. He trusts those instincts and commits early in any direction. That's why he has so many interception opportunities. The sideline interception against Clemson and pick six against Virginia are examples of plays that Kitchens can make but Holland would not. Holland would never trust the read to get to those spots in time. Once the Clemson quarterback rolled right I saw Kitchens break toward the sideline. He knew only a fraction of the field was available. Hence he was just sitting there to inherit the deep sideline overthrow.
Playmakers are always valuable. But translate that early commitment to a league where some quarterbacks and designs are more than capable of roll right and throw back to the left.
Kitchens will be a high profile player, one way or another. The quick commit tendencies make that inevitable. The game at North Carolina State this year quickly became discouraging because our offense was so inept. Frigid cold night. I watched Kitchens throughout. He had a nice diving interception early on a deep ball. But once the game shifted away from Miami the weaknesses showed up, like lack of speed and a troubling tendency to shoulder tackle instead of wrapping up.
