SE: K-State’s Jordan Mittie Takes ‘Unique’ Route to Defensive Line, Wildcats
Sep 07, 2018 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
There are a number of ways to describe Jordan Mittie's journey to K-State football.
Jeff Mittie, his father and K-State's women's basketball head coach, called it "unique." Jordan summed it up with, "It is pretty crazy."
Unlikely would also work.
"Four or five years ago, I don't think either of us could have seen any of this happening," Jordan, who had two tackles in his Wildcat debut last Saturday, said. "But it's been awesome for us… a lot of fun."
Five years ago, Jordan and the rest of the Mittie family began a whirlwind of changes.
Based at the time out of Aledo, Texas, a small town west of Fort Worth, Jeff served as the TCU head women's basketball coach. Jordan was a senior all-state linebacker who had already been part of two Class 4A Division II state championship teams in 2011 and 2013.
Then, in the spring of 2014, Mittie became the K-State women's basketball head coach. Jordan left a few months later for the Naval Prep Academy in Newport, Rhode Island, where he stayed one semester before realizing it was best to take his life a different direction.
He landed back in his home state in the spring of 2015. More specifically, he moved to San Marcos, home of Texas State. There, his linebacking prowess earned him a scholarship under Dennis Franchione, whom retired after Jordan's redshirt season.
Jordan's next coach was Everett Withers, out of FCS power James Madison. His staff brought in a 3-4 defense and wanted to move Jordan to the defensive line. Consequently, they also wanted him to add about 30 pounds to his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame during the spring of 2016.
"It was a tough spring, a lot of eating," he said. "You just had to eat with any available time you got. In the morning, I would pack a bunch of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and basically ate them whenever I had any free time.
"I got through that and it's worked out pretty well."
Jordan, now a 4-3 defensive tackle in K-State's two-deep, held down a starting role at Texas State in 2016 and 2017. He played nearly every snap of his first game, forcing a key fumble in an overtime loss to Ohio, which went 8-6 that season. His second game came against a ranked Arkansas team with a massive offensive line.
"He had no choice but to get better," Jeff said of Jordan's introduction to Division I football. "He had to grow up quick."
In two seasons, Jordan racked up 83 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. He earned honorable mention All-Sun Belt honors in 2017 when he finished sixth on the team with 52 tackles.
Jordan worked equally as hard in the classroom.
Last December, he received his undergraduate degree in finance from Texas State. In turn, he completed a seven-semester graduation plan he set when he was redshirted in order to allow him to complete a master's degree by the time he finished playing.
"It's kind of been my five-year plan," Jordan said.
What was not in his plan, at least initially, was the decision to become a graduate transfer. When Jordan approached his father with the idea, Jeff said he had "mixed emotions."
"I advised him that he had to make it for the right reasons, and he was able to verbalize those reasons," Jeff said. "He just said, 'Hey, I want to take a look. Here's some of the schools I know have good business departments, I know have good grad programs and they also have good football programs.'"
K-State was on Jordan's list. To be clear, his connection with the Wildcats dated back well before his father went there in 2014. Jordan's uncle, Brad Seib, was K-State head coach Bill Snyder's first in-state commit and played for the Wildcats from 1990-93.
"So, Jordan's always known about K-State football," Jeff said.
"He's always talked about K-State," Jordan, who has two years of eligibility at K-State, added of his uncle. "He just said it's a lot of hard work, basically what you hear before you come here. He said it's the real deal."
The Mittie family even joined Seib at the 2011 Cotton Bowl down in Texas when K-State faced Arkansas, unknowingly getting a glimpse into their future of cheering on the Wildcats.
"Even before my dad got here," Jordan said, "I knew a lot about the program and kept up with them."
Jordan also knew what it was like to be a coach's son. So, when he reached out to K-State and they said they were interested in him, he was not sure how serious to take it.
"With my dad here, I didn't know if they were just being nice, being cordial, just saying they were interested," he said. "But two or three weeks later, Coach Mo Latimore started calling me, then Coach (Blake) Seiler.
"Once K-State offered me, it was a little bit of a no-brainer."
The decision was easy because K-State fit exactly what Jordan wanted. Between the university's new business building, its well-respected graduate school and the opportunity to battle for playing time right away for a program that has made eight-straight bowl games, Jordan's search was over.
It did not hurt that he had family nearby, either.
"I think being away for a while was good, it definitely helps you grow up and mature a little bit," he said. "But it's also super nice to be able to have people you care about right here."
About 15 of Jordan's family members were on hand for last Saturday's win against South Dakota. He expects close to the same amount for this Saturday's battle with No. 18 Mississippi State at 11 a.m.
"I got to see (Seib) and my parents on the sidelines before the game, so that was a really cool feeling," Jordan said. "I've probably been to two or three games here, just as a fan, but being on the field and running through the tunnel with the guys is a completely different feeling. It was awesome."
Jeff shared similar excitement about the experience from the sidelines.
"It was pretty cool. You don't get that opportunity very often. I coached my oldest daughter (Logan) at TCU, so that was unique. I've been fortunate to be able to see both Jordan and Madison play," Jeff said, as his youngest daughter, Madison, plays basketball at Fort Hays State. "In Jordan's case with football, because of the way his seasons and our recruiting (schedule) matches up, I've only been able to catch him two to three games a year. So, I've had to catch a lot of them on ESPN3 or whatever, so it was really cool to watch him come out of that tunnel with the team. To see him contribute on the field was fun because I know that was his goal. He wants to be a player that can help the program."
There are a number of ways to describe Jordan Mittie's journey to K-State football.
Jeff Mittie, his father and K-State's women's basketball head coach, called it "unique." Jordan summed it up with, "It is pretty crazy."
Unlikely would also work.
"Four or five years ago, I don't think either of us could have seen any of this happening," Jordan, who had two tackles in his Wildcat debut last Saturday, said. "But it's been awesome for us… a lot of fun."
Five years ago, Jordan and the rest of the Mittie family began a whirlwind of changes.
Based at the time out of Aledo, Texas, a small town west of Fort Worth, Jeff served as the TCU head women's basketball coach. Jordan was a senior all-state linebacker who had already been part of two Class 4A Division II state championship teams in 2011 and 2013.
Then, in the spring of 2014, Mittie became the K-State women's basketball head coach. Jordan left a few months later for the Naval Prep Academy in Newport, Rhode Island, where he stayed one semester before realizing it was best to take his life a different direction.
He landed back in his home state in the spring of 2015. More specifically, he moved to San Marcos, home of Texas State. There, his linebacking prowess earned him a scholarship under Dennis Franchione, whom retired after Jordan's redshirt season.
Jordan's next coach was Everett Withers, out of FCS power James Madison. His staff brought in a 3-4 defense and wanted to move Jordan to the defensive line. Consequently, they also wanted him to add about 30 pounds to his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame during the spring of 2016.
"It was a tough spring, a lot of eating," he said. "You just had to eat with any available time you got. In the morning, I would pack a bunch of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and basically ate them whenever I had any free time.
"I got through that and it's worked out pretty well."
Jordan, now a 4-3 defensive tackle in K-State's two-deep, held down a starting role at Texas State in 2016 and 2017. He played nearly every snap of his first game, forcing a key fumble in an overtime loss to Ohio, which went 8-6 that season. His second game came against a ranked Arkansas team with a massive offensive line.
"He had no choice but to get better," Jeff said of Jordan's introduction to Division I football. "He had to grow up quick."
In two seasons, Jordan racked up 83 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. He earned honorable mention All-Sun Belt honors in 2017 when he finished sixth on the team with 52 tackles.
Jordan worked equally as hard in the classroom.
Last December, he received his undergraduate degree in finance from Texas State. In turn, he completed a seven-semester graduation plan he set when he was redshirted in order to allow him to complete a master's degree by the time he finished playing.
"It's kind of been my five-year plan," Jordan said.
What was not in his plan, at least initially, was the decision to become a graduate transfer. When Jordan approached his father with the idea, Jeff said he had "mixed emotions."
"I advised him that he had to make it for the right reasons, and he was able to verbalize those reasons," Jeff said. "He just said, 'Hey, I want to take a look. Here's some of the schools I know have good business departments, I know have good grad programs and they also have good football programs.'"
K-State was on Jordan's list. To be clear, his connection with the Wildcats dated back well before his father went there in 2014. Jordan's uncle, Brad Seib, was K-State head coach Bill Snyder's first in-state commit and played for the Wildcats from 1990-93.
"So, Jordan's always known about K-State football," Jeff said.
"He's always talked about K-State," Jordan, who has two years of eligibility at K-State, added of his uncle. "He just said it's a lot of hard work, basically what you hear before you come here. He said it's the real deal."
The Mittie family even joined Seib at the 2011 Cotton Bowl down in Texas when K-State faced Arkansas, unknowingly getting a glimpse into their future of cheering on the Wildcats.
"Even before my dad got here," Jordan said, "I knew a lot about the program and kept up with them."
Jordan also knew what it was like to be a coach's son. So, when he reached out to K-State and they said they were interested in him, he was not sure how serious to take it.
"With my dad here, I didn't know if they were just being nice, being cordial, just saying they were interested," he said. "But two or three weeks later, Coach Mo Latimore started calling me, then Coach (Blake) Seiler.
"Once K-State offered me, it was a little bit of a no-brainer."
The decision was easy because K-State fit exactly what Jordan wanted. Between the university's new business building, its well-respected graduate school and the opportunity to battle for playing time right away for a program that has made eight-straight bowl games, Jordan's search was over.
It did not hurt that he had family nearby, either.
"I think being away for a while was good, it definitely helps you grow up and mature a little bit," he said. "But it's also super nice to be able to have people you care about right here."
About 15 of Jordan's family members were on hand for last Saturday's win against South Dakota. He expects close to the same amount for this Saturday's battle with No. 18 Mississippi State at 11 a.m.
? Playing in front family for the first time at K-State
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 4, 2018
? This week's business-like approach
?? Jordan Mittie | #KStateFB pic.twitter.com/30rDaX6Jz1
"I got to see (Seib) and my parents on the sidelines before the game, so that was a really cool feeling," Jordan said. "I've probably been to two or three games here, just as a fan, but being on the field and running through the tunnel with the guys is a completely different feeling. It was awesome."
Jeff shared similar excitement about the experience from the sidelines.
"It was pretty cool. You don't get that opportunity very often. I coached my oldest daughter (Logan) at TCU, so that was unique. I've been fortunate to be able to see both Jordan and Madison play," Jeff said, as his youngest daughter, Madison, plays basketball at Fort Hays State. "In Jordan's case with football, because of the way his seasons and our recruiting (schedule) matches up, I've only been able to catch him two to three games a year. So, I've had to catch a lot of them on ESPN3 or whatever, so it was really cool to watch him come out of that tunnel with the team. To see him contribute on the field was fun because I know that was his goal. He wants to be a player that can help the program."
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