Brandon Anthony Middleton (born January 2, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver and currently is the offensive coordinator at Royal High School in Brookshire, Texas. Middleton was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2004. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Middleton played five seasons in the National Football League, including the final two with the Detroit Lions. His top game in "Motown" came on Dec. 16, 2007, at San Diego when Middleton made four grabs for 32 yards and a nine-yard touchdown reception. Middleton has also been a member of the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of the NFL and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the Canadian Football League and was named outside receivers coach for his alma mater Houston Cougars in February, 2011.

Early years

Brandon played wide receiver for the Alief Elsik Rams - a suburb of west Houston in Texas - under head coach Bill Barron and wide receiver coach Daniel McKamie during high school. He once had a 101-yard kick off return and was the leading receiver in both catches, yards and TD's. He was also the strongest skills position player on the team at that time and once squatted 415 pounds. Middleton was also a letter man in football and track.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Due to an injury of starting wide receiver Roy Williams late in the 2007 season, Middleton saw increased playing time. On December 15, 2007 in a game against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, Middleton caught his first career touchdown on a pass from quarterback

Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...

. Middleton was released by the Lions during final cuts on August 30, 2008. He was re-signed on September 9 after

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

Dan Campbell Daniel Allen Campbell (born April 13, 1976), nicknamed "Motor City Dan Campbell", or "MCDC" for short, is an American football coach and a former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He pr ...

was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. Middleton was released by the Lions on November 11, 2008 and replaced by

John Standeford John William Standeford (born April 15, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Purdue, and signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He also played for the Indianapolis C ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Middleton was signed to the

practice roster In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 16, 2009. He was released on October 4.

Coaching career

Middleton was hired by

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

head coach

Tony Levine Tony Levine (born October 28, 1972) is a former American football coach who last coached at Purdue as the special teams coordinator, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach. He is a former head coach for the Houston Cougars football team. ...

after helping Evangel Christian Academy to the Louisiana Class 2A state playoffs in 2011 and the state championship in 2010. During the 2010 championship run, Middleton's top three receivers combined for 148 catches, 2,386 yards and 30 touchdowns as Evangel went 12–2. At the press conference announcing Middleton as Houston's new receivers coach, he said, "This is such an exciting time in my life for me and my family, and I just want to thank Coach Levine for this incredible opportunity to come back to my alma mater and continue my coaching career. There is such a great feeling around this program, and I have of course followed Houston ever since I graduated. It's truly an honor to come back to UH and be a part of this great program once again." In 2016 Middleton came to

Little Rock Christian Academy Little Rock Christian Academy is a private, college-preparatory Christian school serving PK3 through 12th grade. Founded in 1977 as Walnut Valley Christian Academy, Little Rock Christian Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Indepe ...

to be offensive coordinator of the Warriors. In the 2018 season, he coached the team to a 9–1 season and the Arkansas 5A state championship.

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