October 3, 2024
Wildwood Graduate Nate Mikel Shining In Junior Season for Southeastern University
By Kyle Coppola
Wildwood Graduate Nate Mikel Shining In Junior Season for Southeastern University
LAKELAND, Fla. — Former Wildwood Middle High School standout Nate Mikel is off to a stellar start in his junior season with Southeastern University, leading the Fire to a perfect 3-0 record. The 6-foot-3 quarterback from Leesburg, Florida, has showcased his dual-threat abilities, passing for 137 yards and two touchdowns while adding nearly 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns on the ground.
Mikel’s agility and elusiveness have made him a key player for Southeastern, helping the Fire maintain their undefeated streak early in the season. His leadership and dynamic playmaking have continued the success he showed at Wildwood Middle High. He’s an amazing athlete and he is getting to show those skills close to home as SEU play in Lakeland.
During his high school career, Mikel led Wildwood to a 9-2 record and a berth in the Class 1A playoffs in 2020. He threw for 2,475 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only four interceptions while also rushing for 371 yards and five touchdowns. In the 2019 season, he threw for 1,362 yards and 16 touchdowns and added 298 rushing yards and five scores.
We are thrilled to see this young man getting a chance to lead the Flames this season. Keep working Nate!
Photo Credit – SEU Football
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.