MONTAGUE – When the world around him went into shutdown mode amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Trey Mikkelsen could not sit by idly.
While completing his Montague High School junior year at home, he parlayed his ingenuity and blue-collar mentality into something creative and productive. The Montague football team’s jack-of-all-trades tackled a variety of do-it-yourself projects around the house.
“He’s just got a really good heart and he’s creative,” teammate and friend Drew Collins said.
The projects began in March, when Mikkelsen gathered some scrap wood at home and went to work building his own Wildcats-themed, blue-and-white cornhole boards. The tasks continued with his custom-made, Montague Wildcat power rack constructed from untreated 4x4 wood posts and old, galvanized pipe, all held together with lag screws.
Next, Mikkelsen knocked out the installation of shelving on a downstairs wall where he could display memorabilia, such as Montague helmets and assorted mini-helmets and autographed footballs from the Wildcats’ 2008 and 2009 state-championship teams. Finally, he crafted a Father’s Day gift, displaying on an old pallet photography work by mother Letisha, who had captured images of Trey, his younger sister, Kiara, and their dad, Randall, after each shot turkeys this season.
If that weren’t enough, Trey helped create cloth masks that were sold in downtown Montague for people who needed them during the pandemic.
Being a great teammate is important to Trey Mikkelsen, second only to being a good son and brother. Whether it’s turkey hunting, playing cornhole, enjoying a campfire, or his 14-year-old sister putting on the gear and catching his bullpen pitching sessions, family time is at a premium.
“It’s awesome,” he said about turkey hunting, but it applies to all aspects of his personal life. “Get to go hang out with my family. It’s a place to get away from football when you need to get away. It’s that part of life that really touches you.”
Montague's Trey Mikkelsen, foreground right, celebrates with teammates as Johnny Monette (3) holds the Division 6 regional championship trophy after the Wildcats' 48-14 victory over Sanford Meridian on Nov. 16, 2019, at Montague High School.Kayla Renie | MLive.com
Mikkelsen, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound rising senior, selflessly filled in wherever needed for Montague’s football team in 2019, when the Wildcats went 10-3 and lost a 31-30 overtime heartbreaker to Maple City Glen Lake in the Division 6 state semifinals.
Offensively, Mikkelsen’s most natural spot is tight end. He wore jersey No. 13 for a good part of last season, but he switched to No. 73 after he volunteered to play offensive tackle as the need called for it. Defensively, he displayed a nose for the ball on the kickoff team and he continued to make plays after he had earned his way into the rotation. He finished the season with 27 solo tackles and 23 assists.
Montague coach Pat Collins said that Mikkelsen can play a variety of positions – tackle, guard, center, quarterback, tight end, defensive line, linebacker – and he knows the responsibilities for all of those spots on every single play.
It’s not all that surprising, though, when you consider that Mikkelsen is a coach’s son. His father is head coach for Montague’s junior varsity squad.
Mikkelsen admits he’s not the biggest, strongest or fastest player, but Pat Collins puts a great value on his contributions to the team. Measurables are one thing; knowing how to actually play the game is another.
Montague High School football player Trey Mikkelsen interviews with MLive during a workout on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Montague, Mich. (Scott DeCamp | MLive.com)
“He came in and played the game and did his job and knew everybody else’s job, which is what we ask of everybody,” Collins said. “You should know everybody’s job because you’ve got to understand the concept of what we’re trying to do. If you only know your job, you’re not a very good player.
“Our need was on offense, so we got him in at tackle because Mark (Vanderleest) was pretty banged up. We gave (Vanderleest) a little breather to just play defense. Trey was even banged up, and as time went on, he got healthy and he was hard to keep off the field because on defense, every time he went in, he made plays. One example of that is on the kickoff team: When you get to the end of the third game and 90 percent of your kickoff tackles are for Trey, you’re going to earn a position on defense.”
Leading up to his senior season, Mikkelsen is vying for a starting linebacker spot and he again projects as a tight end. He believes the Wildcats have what it takes to make a serious run at the program’s first state title since ’09 and they’re especially driven to do so after ending last season on a tough note.
Mikkelsen is like everybody else, though, who at this point are just hoping there’s a season. He knows not to take things for granted after what’s already been lost in the grips of the global pandemic.
“The seniors always say when we have our bonfires and stuff, it goes by fast. It literally goes by fast, especially with this,” Mikkelsen said. “You just missed a whole year of baseball and spring sports and all the track people and everything.”
Mikkelsen, who plans to become a teacher and coach down the road and is considering trying to play college football, believes his role with Montague’s football team is helping others become stronger, providing leadership and doing whatever is needed.
Drew Collins, also a coach’s son and college prospect, who stars at quarterback as a three-year varsity player, said that Mikkelsen’s selflessness is contagious and that he would not be surprised to see Mikkelsen in a captain’s role.
He said that Mikkelsen is not only versatile, but he’s accepting of it. In other words, Mikkelsen is the type of player that every team needs.
“You can have a versatile guy that’s like, ‘No, I want to be a lineman,’ or ‘No, I want to be a skill (player),’ but Trey just does what’s best for the team,” Drew Collins said. “He’s a great teammate. He would never put himself before the team.”
Mikkelsen is a high school football nut, from serving as a panelist for the weekly Muskegon-area predictions for local media outlet M7 Sports to his research of teams across the state to his interest in the State Champs! Michigan Helmet Challenge.
Mikkelsen’s mind is always working. During quarantine, he put it to good use with the various projects he took on at home.
Family time is important to him, but he also treasures the brotherhood and tight bond he feels with his Montague teammates.
“It means the world to me,” he said about playing for the Wildcats. “It’s my getaway place. It’s where I can think with my brothers and just relate with everybody.”
Read more:
Montague’s Pat Collins sums up worries of all coaches about their high school student-athletes
Michigan high school athletes ‘embracing’ socially distanced workouts -- 6 feet apart
High school football in the spring? Gov. Whitmer and MHSAA are considering it
Ivy League schools contacting Montague QB, whose mission is winning a state title
Make it Division I opportunities for two Montague football players in one night
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