Student-Athlete Profile: Micah Kiser
Jan. 24, 2018
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Micah Kiser
By Vincent Briedis
What is next for Micah Kiser? He starts his preparation for the 2018 NFL Draft by taking part in the 2018 Senior Bowl on Jan. 27 in Mobile, Ala. Kiser will spend all week leading up to the game working out for NFL coaches and scouts. The game will air on the NFL Network at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Kiser has been a tackling force on the football field for the past three seasons. The Baltimore, Md., native led the Atlantic Coast Conference in tackles in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He is just the second player in league history to lead the conference in tackles for three straight seasons.
A three-time first-team All-ACC honoree and a first-team All-American (Sporting News) in 2017, Kiser’s 145 tackles were the fourth most in the nation and are No. 2 all-time on UVA’s single-season ledger. Over the past two seasons Kiser has been named to 11 different All-America teams, including earning second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2016, becoming the first Cavalier to do so in nearly 20 years.
Kiser’s dedication in the classroom and his production on the football field hasn’t been ignored nationally. He was awarded the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy in 2017 as the nation’s scholar-athlete of the year. The honor has been dubbed the “Academic Heisman” and Kiser was up against all football players from all NCAA Division I, II, II and NAIA institutions. Additionally, he was a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Senior CLASS Award and the Bobby Bowden Award, all national honors with an emphasis on academics.
While the NFL is in Kiser’s sights this spring he knows his dedication in the classroom at UVA will pay off well beyond his playing days.
“You can’t play football forever,” said Kiser. “You come to a school like UVA so you can have a great career after football. It is not a four-year decision, it is a 40-year decision. I came here to get the best of both worlds, ACC football and an education that rivals one from the Ivy League. I have taken advantage of my opportunities here graduating in four years with a degree in foreign affairs, and now working on my masters.”
Kiser is wide open on his career options after football, but being in administration of a college athletics program seems pretty exciting for the inside linebacker. Regardless of where he decides to enter life after football, his foundation laid here in Charlottesville has opened many possibilities.
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