Kansas State University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Wide Receivers
A native of Kansas City, Kansas and experienced coach at all levels of college football, Matthew Middleton is in his third season at Kansas State in 2025 coaching the wide receivers.
Over his first two seasons, Middleton has coached Jayce Brown to one of the best starts by a wide receiver in school history. Brown opens his junior campaign in 2025 ranked eighth in school history in career yards per reception (17.03), while he was the seventh-fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards (59th catch). Brown is also fifth nationally among active players with his 17.03 career average per reception.
Those career figures are buoyed by an 823-yard season in 2024, the new school record for receiving yards by a sophomore. Middleton also guided Brown to a tie for third in school history in touchdown catches by a sophomore (5) and a fifth-place ranking in receptions (47). He finished the 2024 campaign ranked 31st nationally and fourth in the Big 12 in yards per reception (17.51), while those rankings jumped to eighth in the nation and tops in the Big 12 among receivers with at least 45 catches.
Middleton was part of an offensive staff that guided the Wildcats to top-10 rankings in school history in 15 game or season categories, including a school record for offensive yards per play (6.57). The Wildcats also tied for third in passing touchdowns (25), ranked fourth in offensive yards per game (426.8), fifth in total offensive yards (5,549), seventh in completions (222) and 10th in passing yards (2,749).
Middleton made an immediate impact as his receivers helped the 2023 Wildcat offense rank in the top 30 nationally in 11 offensive categories, including scoring (10th – 37.1 points per game), rushing (11th – 204.1 yards per game), third down conversions (11th – 47.9%), rushing touchdowns (12th – 32) and first downs (12th – 310). The Wildcats also ranked 30th nationally in red zone offense (89.23%) but were second in the country by scoring touchdowns on 78.46% of their red zone attempts.
K-State also ranked in the top 10 in school history in 32 game or season categories in 2023. Among those was a school-record 30 passing touchdowns, No. 2 rankings in offensive yards per game (445.2) and first downs (310), and No. 3 showings in total yards (5,788), completions (258) and pass attempts (426).
During Middleton’s first year in Manhattan, he helped close the book on the career of Phillip Brooks, who left K-State ranking fourth in school history in career receptions (182), seventh in career receiving yards (2,127) and tied for seventh in career receiving touchdowns (14).
Under Middleton, Brooks ranked ninth in the Big 12 in receptions per game (4.42) in 2023, the first Wildcat wide receiver to rank in the top 10 in the conference in the category since Tyler Lockett (second) and Curry Sexton (fourth) in 2014, and Brooks’ 53 receptions were the most by a Wildcat in nine seasons. Brooks went on to earn All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades from the league’s coaches as both a wide receiver and kick returner.
Middleton, a 17-year coaching veteran, came to Manhattan after spending the previous five seasons as the wide receivers coach at Kent State where he guided Golden Flash receivers to six all-conference selections, including four first-team honors. In 2022, wide receiver Dante Cephas earned his second All-MAC First Team designation, while Devontez Walker also picked up first-team honors as Kent State passed for more than 2,500 yards for the fourth time in Middleton’s five seasons on staff. In addition to the two receivers, Middleton also coached Ja’Shawun Poke to All-MAC Second Team honors as a kick returner.
Under Middleton, Cephas finished the 2022 season ranked second in the MAC by averaging 82.7 yards per game. Cephas’ best game was a school record 246-yard performance against Ohio, which was just one yard shy of the top receiving mark in the nation in 2022. In his first season as a starter, Walker set the program record with 11 touchdown catches to rank seventh in the country, and his 921 receiving yards ranked second in the conference and stood as the third-most in program history. He also finished amongst MAC leaders in receptions (58) and yards per catch (15.9).
In 2021, the Golden Flashes set a school record for passing offense (3,435 yards) and ranked fourth in the nation in total offense (493.7 yards per game). Cephas was named to the All-MAC First Team after totaling 1,240 yards to rank 16th in the nation to go along with nine touchdowns. Kent State won the MAC East Division, played in the MAC Championship and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
In the shortened 2020 campaign, Middleton coached junior wide receiver Isaiah McKoy to All-MAC First Team honors after finishing third in the conference in yards per catch (18.1) and yards per game (113.0). McKoy topped 100 yards in three of four games and had at least one touchdown in all four games.
In 2019, the Golden Flashes averaged 405.6 yards per game (third in program history) and logged 2,849 passing yards (second in program history) while totaling 42 touchdowns (fifth). Kent State eclipsed 50 points in the program’s first-ever bowl win, a 51-41 victory over Utah State in the Frisco Bowl. Middleton saw two of his pupils earn All-MAC honors in McKoy and Mike Carrigan. McKoy led the Flashes with 56 receptions, 872 yards and eight touchdowns, cracking the top 10 in program history in all three categories and leading the MAC in yards per game and touchdowns. Carrigan caught 44 passes for 570 yards and five touchdowns.
In his first year in Kent in 2018, Middleton’s unit saw an immediate jump in production from the previous season as Antwan Dixon hauled in 52 receptions – the ninth most in a single season in program history – and Carrigan produced a team-leading 597 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Middleton went to Kent State after serving as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at South Dakota the previous three seasons. In 2017, the Coyotes advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs thanks to an average of 333.2 passing yards per game to rank sixth in the FCS.
Middleton began his coaching career at his alma mater, Ottawa, in 2008 before moving to Omaha to coach the wide receivers and returners for two seasons. He then coached the same two positions at Chadron State in 2011 and served as a graduate assistant at Kansas in 2012 before moving on to South Dakota.
Working concurrently with his collegiate jobs, Middleton also earned three Bill Walsh Minority Internships with NFL teams during the early part of training camp, working with the Chicago Bears (July 2015), Minnesota Vikings (July 2016) and Detroit Lions (July 2020).
After graduating from Bonner Springs High School, Middleton picked up four all-conference honors – including two in 2006 as a receiver and a returner – at Ottawa as he left the program as the school’s all-time leader with 159 career receptions. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Ottawa in 2008 and went on to obtain a master’s degree in recreation administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 2012.
Middleton and his wife, Jenna, have two sons, Evan and Elijah, and two daughters, Bria and Cora.
The Middleton File
| PERSONAL INFORMATION |
|---|
| Year in Coaching: 18th |
| Year at K-State: Third |
| Hometown: Kansas City, Kansas |
| Spouse: Jenna |
| Children: Evan, Elijah, Bria, Cora |
| EDUCATION |
|---|
| Ottawa (2008) Bachelor’s in Sports Management (2008) Nebraska-Omaha (2012) Master’s in Recreation Administration (2012) |
| PLAYING EXPERIENCE |
|---|
| Ottawa, Wide Receiver (2004-07) |
| PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE |
|---|
| 2008, Ottawa (Wide Receivers) |
| 2009-10, Omaha (Wide Receivers/Returners) |
| 2011, Chadron State (Wide Receivers/Returners) |
| 2012, Kansas (Graduate Assistant) |
| 2013-17, South Dakota (Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coord.) |
| 2018-22, Kent State (Wide Receivers) |
| 2023-25, Kansas State (Wide Receivers) |
