Mitch Kidd is a name many fans of the indoor game already know well. With stints in the Champions Indoor Football League, and Fan Control Football he has a cult following in the deepest corners of the alternative football leagues.
Adversity is A Familiar Foe
Kidd is a smaller quarterback who has had to often fight his way into the lineup throughout his career. Adversity is an afterthought to Mitch who is still very young but carries himself with the air of a veteran. This has been demonstrated by his ability to deal with nearly every situation you can face as a quarterback.
Quarterback competitions or controversies, starting or coming off the bench, underdog to overachiever he has seen it all in his short professional career. No matter what he has been faced with, he has excelled despite the circumstances. During his time in the CIF with the Salina Liberty, Kidd was originally slated to start over future CFL Quarterback Tyrie Adams. He would start one game, then get benched due to a bad snap he wasn’t able to corral.
Upon his return to the lineup due to an injury to Adams, he ended up going 16 of 19 for 192 yards, 6 touchdowns to just 1 interception while adding 2 touchdowns on the ground. Kidd would have four games with four or more touchdowns on the season. Even when he didn’t play the majority of the game, like in the Championship game against the Beef a 39-40 loss, he found a way to score a rushing touchdown to help his team.
Despite splitting time with Adams that season, Kidd would still appear in 8 games, completing 61.4% of his 120 passing attempts. He would lead the league in touchdown passes with 22, while picking up 793 passing yards, and tossing just two interceptions. Adding 60 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. This performance helped him garner the recognition to land in the Fan Controlled Football League in season 2.0.
Fan Favorite in Fan-Controlled Football
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Mitch Kidd would go on to lead the league in touchdown passes, and passing yards. Despite playing in just 7 games, Kidd racked up 800 passing yards, and 18 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions, adding 2 touchdowns and 71 yards on the ground. Averaging just under 3 touchdowns per game, a mark he beat with the CIF.
Kidd was the man who stole the spotlight from big names like Terrell Owens, Martavis Bryant, Terrance Williams, and many other former NFL stars. The “Cardiac Kidd” as some fans called him lit up the FCF and showed what he can do. This led him to follow former FCF wide receivers coach Robert Ford and a handful of FCF pass catchers he worked out with in season 2.0 to the XFL’s Orlando Guardians. One of his new teammates, Andrew Jamiel was a receiver Kidd wanted to play with during the FCF whom he now gets to throw to in 2023.
XFL Simply a New Challenge
When asked about going back to the outdoor game Kidd mentions Kurt Warner and the development he displayed after his stint in the Arena Football League. He believes it will slow down the outdoor game for him given the less condensed field, wider passing lanes, and more time to throw.
Call me crazy but at this point, it seems foolish to bet against Kidd overcoming the odds. He has shown that no matter the challenge he will rise to the occasion. With a new team on the horizon but surrounded by familiar faces from his time in the FCF, this is merely the latest challenge on Kidd’s plate. As the third quarterback selected, and not one of the two assigned he knows nothing is promised to him, but at the end of the day nothing ever was since the moment he began his professional career.
While Kidd excels from the pocket due to his ability to slide and find passing lanes, don’t mistake him strictly for a pocket passer. He has even been asked to play slot receiver at times when his teams have been in a pinch in the past. If there’s one lesson to be learned from Mitch’s career it’s that you can never count out the “Cardiac Kidd”.
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