For a football player, few honors are greater than being legitimately praised by Bill Belichick.
The New England Patriots head coach was effusive Monday in his praise of George Kittle, saying the San Francisco 49ers tight end is "as good as anybody that I’ve coached or as good as anybody that we’ve played against.”
(Have the "wAs ThAt A sHoT aT rOb GrOnKoWsKi?" debate on your own time.)
During an appearance on the latest "Adam Schefter Podcast" episode, Kittle reacted to Belichick's kind words.
“It’s incredible,” Kittle said. “Coming from a coach like Belichick, a future Hall of Fame coach, because of the success he’s had and how long he’s sustained it, he knows what he’s talking about. To get a compliment like that from him it means a lot. It makes me excited even more to play this Sunday and go out there and prove I belong in that conversation.”
Kittle will face Belichick and the Patriots for the first time Sunday afternoon when he and the Niners visit Gillette Stadium.