As someone who has been a part of all three national championships Ferris State has won, senior kicker/punter Mitch Middleton is excited for his last year of college.
Born an hour south of Big Rapids in Middleville, Middleton got his start, similar to most kickers, by playing soccer. Middleton also wrestled until his freshman year of high school, when he found kicking, while also playing linebacker.
Middleton found he was good at kicking when he attended one of Ferris State’s special teams coordinators, Jack Schugars’ kicking camps, which he attended all four years of high school at Thornapple-Kellogg High School.
Schugars is very impressed with the type of leader Middleton is for his teammates.
“Mitch Middleton is one of our top team leaders for Ferris Football as he inspires, motivates, and cares about the successes of his teammates,” Schugars said. “Day in and day out, Mitch’s leadership makes us a championship special team unit and team.”
Middleton talked about his team in high school.
“My team in high school always had a winning season,” Middleton said. “We made it into the playoffs a couple of times and made it to the district finals my senior year, but lost.”
In high school, Middleton earned All-State multiple times and was a three-time All-Barry County First Team honoree. He also competed in the 2020 Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp, which is a premier, invite-only event for high school kickers, punters and long snappers to showcase their skills for college football coaches. Middleton has the Thornapple-Kellogg High School record with a 52-yard field goal.
Middleton performed well in the camps put on by Schugars, and the two kept in touch. During Middleton’s senior year of high school, head coach Tony Annese reached out for a phone call, and the kicker was on a visit to Ferris State.
Middleton talked about his decision to attend Ferris State for college.
“I really liked the campus when I visited in early 2021, and then I committed soon after,” Middleton said. “As far as academics, I knew I wanted to do something with engineering, and I had heard good things about Ferris’ engineering program. That, as well as hearing how good Tony (Annese) had been and the quality of teams and guys he’s been around, guided me to make the decision to commit to Ferris State.”
Middleton redshirted his first year during the 2021 national championship-winning season, which allowed him to be around the guys and develop lifelong friendships.
One of those friendships is with junior kicker Eddie Jewett, who is excited to have Middleton on the team to push Jewett to be better.
“Mitch being a part of the special teams group is great,” Jewett said. “He’s a great leader, not just for the specialists, but for the whole team. Competing with Mitch day in and day out definitely pushes me to be the best I can be as he has continuously been one of the top kickers and punters in the country. I’m really excited to have him back for another season.”
Middleton also commented on the common statement that kicking is easy and that anyone can do it since “all they have to do is kick it straight,” saying that kicking isn’t something that someone can learn in one day.
Middleton talked about Pat McAfee on College Gameday, proving that kicking isn’t easy by having random college students kick a field goal for money.
With his last year of college eligibility, Middleton is trying to carry the momentum from last season into this season and bring the Bulldogs back to McKinney, Texas to win another national championship.