Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
he's flown under the radar a bit, because he was primarily just a special teamer at Penn State. but Ethan Kilmer has made the Bengals active roster as a safety/special teams demon, so hopefully this phenomenal athlete will get a shot at more playing time in the future. check out this complimentary article.
Ethan Kilmer finding way with Bengals
By Bill Albright
For The CDT
PITTSBURGH - If you are a young athlete who thinks you have to play four years of high school football and four more years at the collegiate level to make it to the National Football League, alll you have to do is talk to former Penn State student-athlete and current Cincinnati Bengal safety Ethan Kilmer.
As a young athlete at Wyalusing Valley High School, Kilmer didn't even play football. As a matter of fact, when he was at Shippensburg University in 2001-02, you once again couldn't find him on the gridiron.
"I was just involved in so many other things, including basketball and track and field, that I really didn't have time for football,'' explained Kilmer. "Sometimes it was such a struggle trying to keep up, and it seemed like an impossible task for me to get the grasp for the game that most guys have had since they were a little kid.''
After spending a year or so at Shippensburg, Kilmer decided to make his way to Happy Valley and Penn State University. While obviously not one of the Lions' top recruits or for that matter a recruit of any stature, Kilmer decided to try out for the team as a walk-on.
"My initial reason for going to Penn State was because of my major,'' explained Kilmer. "They didn't have a lot in the health field down at Shippensburg and that is really what I wanted to get into. But I have always been a Penn State football fan and I wanted to try something new so I gave it a shot and things worked out for me.''
Following what turned out to be a solid career at PSU, Kilmer was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only did Kilmer hang around through mini-camp and training camp, he must have shown the Bengals something because when the final cut to the 53-man squad was made, his name was on the list.
"I hope they (Bengals) saw something in me that they liked,'' said Kilmer. "The learning curve at this level is so steep and in depth that it seems like a real struggle for the coaches because I am always running around like a chicken with my head cut off sometimes, trying to figure things out. They (Bengal coaches) have been very patient with me and I have to give them a lot of credit for believing in me and sticking with me.''
Bengal head coach Marvin Lewis liked what he saw in Kimble.
"We saw a lot of speed and tackling ability in Ethan,'' said Lewis. "When you watch him on tape, he blows you away on fourth down (with his special teams play). He's going to give us the chance to upgrade our efforts on special teams.''
Not only did Kilmer make the Bengals squad, he has also made some contributions in Cincinnati's first three games that has seen the Bengal Tigers get off to a 3-0 start.
"We have a great group of guys on this team and it is just a good feeling to be able to contribute to the team effort,'' said Kilmer. "It just feels that everybody pulls together as a team to be successful and now we are off to a good start.''
Looking back at the past 10 years of his life, Kilmer was quick to point out that given the opportunity, he wouldn't change anything.
"If given the chance, I don't think I would have done anything differently,'' Kilmer said. "Maybe if I would have played football when I was younger, I might have gotten hurt and that could have led to my being discouraged and I wouldn't have tried to shoot for the stars. I am glad I did things the way I did and I don't have a single regret.''
Ethan Kilmer finding way with Bengals
By Bill Albright
For The CDT
PITTSBURGH - If you are a young athlete who thinks you have to play four years of high school football and four more years at the collegiate level to make it to the National Football League, alll you have to do is talk to former Penn State student-athlete and current Cincinnati Bengal safety Ethan Kilmer.
As a young athlete at Wyalusing Valley High School, Kilmer didn't even play football. As a matter of fact, when he was at Shippensburg University in 2001-02, you once again couldn't find him on the gridiron.
"I was just involved in so many other things, including basketball and track and field, that I really didn't have time for football,'' explained Kilmer. "Sometimes it was such a struggle trying to keep up, and it seemed like an impossible task for me to get the grasp for the game that most guys have had since they were a little kid.''
After spending a year or so at Shippensburg, Kilmer decided to make his way to Happy Valley and Penn State University. While obviously not one of the Lions' top recruits or for that matter a recruit of any stature, Kilmer decided to try out for the team as a walk-on.
"My initial reason for going to Penn State was because of my major,'' explained Kilmer. "They didn't have a lot in the health field down at Shippensburg and that is really what I wanted to get into. But I have always been a Penn State football fan and I wanted to try something new so I gave it a shot and things worked out for me.''
Following what turned out to be a solid career at PSU, Kilmer was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only did Kilmer hang around through mini-camp and training camp, he must have shown the Bengals something because when the final cut to the 53-man squad was made, his name was on the list.
"I hope they (Bengals) saw something in me that they liked,'' said Kilmer. "The learning curve at this level is so steep and in depth that it seems like a real struggle for the coaches because I am always running around like a chicken with my head cut off sometimes, trying to figure things out. They (Bengal coaches) have been very patient with me and I have to give them a lot of credit for believing in me and sticking with me.''
Bengal head coach Marvin Lewis liked what he saw in Kimble.
"We saw a lot of speed and tackling ability in Ethan,'' said Lewis. "When you watch him on tape, he blows you away on fourth down (with his special teams play). He's going to give us the chance to upgrade our efforts on special teams.''
Not only did Kilmer make the Bengals squad, he has also made some contributions in Cincinnati's first three games that has seen the Bengal Tigers get off to a 3-0 start.
"We have a great group of guys on this team and it is just a good feeling to be able to contribute to the team effort,'' said Kilmer. "It just feels that everybody pulls together as a team to be successful and now we are off to a good start.''
Looking back at the past 10 years of his life, Kilmer was quick to point out that given the opportunity, he wouldn't change anything.
"If given the chance, I don't think I would have done anything differently,'' Kilmer said. "Maybe if I would have played football when I was younger, I might have gotten hurt and that could have led to my being discouraged and I wouldn't have tried to shoot for the stars. I am glad I did things the way I did and I don't have a single regret.''