After not even completing one season with the Auburn Tigers, cornerback Antonio Kite has been dismissed from the program.
Kite, a 6-foot, 175-pound sophomore from Anniston, Ala., was released for violating team rules. Jay G. Tate of AuburnSports.com was the first to report.
One of the notable offenses was missing practice on multiple occasions.
Kite transferred from Alabama to Auburn this offseason after Nick Saban retired. He spent just one season with the Crimson Tide. 247Sports had Kite listed as the No. 29 cornerback in the transfer portal this offseason.
After being listed as a starter in Auburn’s defensive secondary to start the season, Kite has played in just four games. In those games, he logged six tackles, intercepted a pass against New Mexico and recovered a fumble on a muffed punt for a touchdown against Missouri.
Kite mostly played on special teams at Alabama last season but returned just one punt for no gain.
Kite attended Anniston High School. 247Sports had him listed as a four-star prospect, and he was the No. 227 player nationally, the No. 10 athlete – as opposed to an actual position – and the No. 11 player from the state of Alabama in the 2022 recruiting class.
Despite choosing to stay close to home and commit to Alabama, Kite held offers from numerous top programs such as Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Penn State, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The dismissal will mean that the team is further depleted at an already weak position. According to Tate, he was one of the more gifted players at the position when he arrived before the season.
But sometimes it has to be done.
When a player continues to have disciplinary actions like Kite did, something had to be done. There’s a limit. When there are so many players who follow the rules and protocols and can do the same job he can, there is no reason to tolerate it.
