By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State senior kicker Dante Brown is one of 12 finalists for the 2019 Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award. The award is given annually to a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III, NAIA or NJCAA placekicker that excels on the football field and in the community. He is a finalist for this award for the second-straight year.
Brown is one of three kickers from NCAA Division II to make the finalist list, along with five from FCS and four from NCAA Division III.
Brown was the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year each of the last two seasons (2018 and 2019). Brown already received All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) this year, making it two straight years he earned All-America recognition at kicker. He averaged 1.72 field goals per game in 2019, succeeding on 19-of-23 attempts. He added in a school-record 52 PAT makes for 109 points for the season. He racked up 232 points over two years, making 47 field goals and 91 PAT tries as the Tigers’ kicker.
Brown earned All-America honors from the D2CCA, D2Football.com, and Don Hansen Football Committee in 2018 as a kicker, including National Special Teams Player of the Year by the Don Hansen committee. He had one of the most successful kicking seasons in NCAA Division II history, converting 28 field goals out of 33 attempts. His 28 field goals in 2018 were second most for a season in Division II history, only two shy of the record 30 set by Jeff Glas from the University of North Dakota in 2005. Brown broke the MIAA record of 25 made by Simon Mathieson in 2015, but Mathieson set that record in 15 games played compared to just 12 for Brown. Brown also broke Mathieson’s MIAA record for attempts in a season. His 123 points in 2018 set a new FHSU single-season scoring record.
Even with his impressive accolades at kicker, Brown was also an All-America selection at punter in both 2017 and 2018 for Fort Hays State. He served as both the team’s kicker and punter in 2018, earning All-MIAA First Team accolades at both positions. He averaged 41.4 yards per punt in 2018 with 14 attempts going for more than 50 yards. He tied the school record for longest punt with an 84-yard boot. In 2017, he served solely as the team’s punter and averaged 43.5 yards per attempt, which included 21 attempts going for more than 50 yards. Over the two years in a punting role, he averaged 42.4 yards per attempt, second-best in FHSU history.
The award is named for Fred Mitchell, who enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the nation’s first prominent small-college placekicking specialists at Wittenberg University in Ohio. He is a Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and former Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award is chosen based on both excellence on the football field and the community.
Below are the finalists for the 2019 Fred Mitchell Award.
LUIS AGUILAR
Northern Arizona University – Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
JON ALBERTS
Central College (Iowa) – Division III (D3)
GRAYSON ATKINS
Furman University (S.C.) – FCS
DREW BEVELHIMER
Butler University (Ind.) – FCS
DANTE BROWN
Fort Hays State University (Kan.) – Division II (D2)
MITCHELL FINERAN
Samford University (Ala.) – FCS
JAYDON HAAG
University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh – D3
DANNY LAUDET
Concordia University (Minn.) – D2
JAMIE POGUE
Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) – D3
McLEAN ROBERTSON
Wingate University (N.C.) – D2
ELIJAH “STORM” RUIZ
Stephen F. Austin (Texas) – FCS
SAM THOREEN
Hamilton College (N.Y.) – D3