Choctaw grad Mikel promoted to O-line coach at Delta State

Big brothers are always supposed to protect their little brothers.

That’s not just a belief of Travis Mikel. Now, it’s his job.

Mikel has been promoted to offensive line coach at Delta State University, where the former Choctawhatchee standout will oversee a group that is charged with protecting, among other players, his younger brother Zak, the potential starting quarterback.

After a stellar career as an offensive lineman at Delta State, Mikel served as a graduate assistant and Director of Football Operations the past two seasons under head coach Ron Roberts.

“Travis is a solid up and coming young coach with the desire to succeed in this profession,” Roberts said in a release on the team’s website. “Travis has worked in just about every facet of our operation here at DSU and I believe he was the person we needed to coach the offensive line.”

Even if he is only 25 years old.

“It’s an opportunity a lot of people, especially my age, don’t get,” said Mikel, whose uncles Billy Mikel (Choctawhatchee) and Bobby Mikel (Richbourg Middle School, Crestview) coached in the area. “Especially at a place so special.”

An anchor at center for the Statesmen, Mikel earned All-American honors in 2006 while helping Delta State to the Division II NCAA semifinals and a final ranking of No. 3 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The next season Mikel helped guide the Statesmen to their first outright Gulf South Conference championship.

The first thing Mikel mentioned about his ambitions for the offensive line had nothing to do with performance on the field.

“The No. 1 thing that’s the biggest for me is that they get their diploma,” said the 2003 Choctaw graduate, who assisted with coaching the line last season. “If they walk out of here without their diploma, football has used them instead of them using football.”

When it comes to the field, Mikel will expect his line to be prepared, physical and passionate and to play with sound technique.

“Without those two things,” he said, referring to passion and technique, “they’ll never be as good as they want to be or could be.”

In his first year as an assistant, Mikel helped coach the wide receivers and, since the Statesmen were deep at quarterback and Zak is a versatile athlete, Zak lined up at wideout. Their dynamic catches most off guard.

“People think it would be a struggle and hard,” Mikel said. “The relationship Zak and I have makes it very easy. We’re each other’s best friend. We trust each other.”

Mikel would embrace the opportunity to one day coach at the Division-I level, but his only focus now is making an even bigger imprint on Delta State’s football program.

“If you do your job as good as possible, the next job will come to you,” he said. “Right now, I’m concentrating on building a program here. I want Delta State to become as good as Delta State can be.”