Mike Middleton (born December 4, 1969) is a former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was selected 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 ...

in the third round (84th overall) of the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He played

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 ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Early years

Middleton attended Western Hills High School, where he played as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. In his senior season, he posted 1,620 rushing yards and 20

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s, including a 250-yard, 6-

game against Walnut Hills. He received All-conference and All-southwest Ohio honors. In his last 2 years he registered 2,742 yards and 35

s. He also practiced

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

College career

Middleton accepted a football scholarship from

with the plan of being the eventual successor at

to Anthony Thompson. A chronic injury to his right ankle that he suffered in the Ohio All-Star game, forced the team to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

him in his first season. As a freshman, because of his size and athletic ability, the coaching staff wanted to find a way to get him on the field and converted him into a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

, although his body type was considered heavy for the position. As the starter at left cornerback he made 59 tackles (fourth on the team), 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, one interception and one pass defensed. As a sophomore, he experienced a muscle spasm in the walls of his heart and missed 2 games. He finished the season with a career-high 65 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 4 passes defensed and one interception. In the season opener he returned an interception 22-yards for a

against the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. He had a career-high 15 tackles against

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. He also added 8 kickoffs returns for 169 yards (21.1-yard average). As a junior, he had 63 tackles (fourth on the team), 4 tackles for loss and 7 passes defensed (tied for the team lead). In his last year, he was diagnosed with

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

, which forced him to miss the first 2 games. He still was able to post 58 tackles (fourth on the team), 3 tackles for loss, 3 passes defensed and one forced fumble. He put together a string of double-digit tackle performances over the final three games of the season. He also practiced

as a senior. He was a four-year starter, making 42 starts in 46 games, 245 tackles (18 for loss), 3 sacks, 15 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and one forced fumble.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Middleton was selected by the

in the third round (84th overall) of the

to play

. He was released before the season started on August 23.

Miami Dolphins

On December

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, he was added to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

practice squad. He was signed for the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

training camp, but was released before the season started on April 25.

Barcelona Dragons (WLAF)

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he signed with the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2003; * Barcelona Dragons (ELF) The Barcelona Dragons are an American football team based in ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

on May 11. In

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, he returned as the starter at

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

Orlando Predators (AFL)

On July 10, 1996, he signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

to play wide receiver/defensive back. On May 27, 1997, he was traded to the

New York CityHawks The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York Ci ...

along with the rights for

John Bock John Bock (born 1965 in Schenefeld, Germany) is a German artist. He studied in Hamburg, Germany and lives and works in Berlin. Work Bock is a multi-media artist primarily known for his performances. Since 1991, he creates environments hand cra ...

in exchange for Curtis Cotton.

New York CityHawks (AFL)

In 1997, he signed with the

. He was waived on July 23.

Augusta Stallions (AF2)

In March 2000, he signed to play for the

Augusta Stallions The Augusta Stallions were a professional Arena football team based in Augusta, Georgia. They were one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference, before switching to the Southeast ...

at fullback/linebacker in the inaugural

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

season. On May 12, 2000, he was placed on the

after tearing a ligament in his ankle.

Personal life

Middleton became an assistant football coach at Winton Woods High School, helping the school win its first state championship in 2009.

References

External links

Indiana's Middleton Counts His Blessings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Mike 1969 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football safeties Indiana Hoosiers football players Barcelona Dragons players Orlando Predators players New York CityHawks players Augusta Stallions players