Who is Mitch Jeter's dad? Meet the chiropractor behind Notre Dame's clutch kicker

3 weeks ago 11

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are playing successful their archetypal nationalist rubric crippled successful 12 seasons arsenic they instrumentality connected the Ohio State Buckeyes Monday successful Atlanta.

A large crushed Notre Dame is adjacent successful this presumption aft the unthinkable nonaccomplishment to Northern Illinois is kicker Mitch Jeter's instrumentality to health. During ND's magical playoff run, Jeter, who transferred from South Carolina earlier the season, has connected connected 7-8 fields goals and been cleanable connected other points. His 41-yard footwear against Penn State sent the Irish to the nationalist rubric game.

High supra the field, his parents watched.  As always, his dad, Dr. Andrew Jeter, a chiropractor successful North Carolina, pressed grounds connected his telephone to seizure the moment.

Mitch Jeter's early-season struggles

Jeter's occurrence during the Irish's playoff tally wasn't ever a definite bet. In fact, determination were doubts astir him adjacent being capable to instrumentality aft a groin wounded against Miami of Ohio connected September 21.

He would miss Notre Dame's adjacent 2 games. During that time, his dada talked with his lad regular arsenic the Irish grooming unit worked time and nighttime to get him backmost to health.

By now, you've astir apt seen caught a glimpse of Dr. Jeter nervously watching successful the stands arsenic Mitch lines up a kick.

This is what it’s each about.

Mitch Jeter’s dada successful the stands the infinitesimal his lad deed the game-winning FG 🥹 pic.twitter.com/BNjV1WXbnX

— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2025

Dr. Jeter is 1 of galore radical who collaborated connected gathering an elaborate rehab program to get his lad healthy. Along the way, helium has garnered a ton of camera time.  At this point, helium is fundamentally a meme.

It's hard to believe, but this infinitesimal successful the spotlight astir ne'er happened.  All it took was immoderate friends messing astir aft schoolhouse kicking a shot around.

How Mitch Jeter stumbled upon football

Long earlier helium started reasoning astir being a shot kicker, Mitch had dreams of playing big-time assemblage soccer. His begetter was a subordinate of the aquatics squad astatine East Carolina University, wherever helium met his wife, Stacy, an elite gymnast who was grooming with Bob Colarossi earlier an ACL wounded ended her career.

Mitch stumbled upon shot portion extracurricular kicking with immoderate friends successful precocious schoolhouse conscionable for fun. 

"I conjecture the archetypal 1 helium made from similar 40 yards," Mitch's father, Dr. Jeter told Sporting News. "And they were similar 'No way, he's [just] a beginner, bash it again. And helium did it again and past they started backing him up, and backing him up and they're similar 'Dude, you request to spell speech to the shot manager astatine your school.'"

Jeter began grooming with Dan Orner, a erstwhile Carolina Panthers kicker who present trains kickers, arsenic good arsenic hosting kicking camps astir the Charlotte area. After attending Kohl's kicking campy successful Atlanta, Georgia, his recruiting illustration started to instrumentality shape.

Per 247SportsComposite, Jeter was the No. 12 wide kicking prospect successful the state from the people of 2020. He initially intended to play astatine ECU, until South Carolina assistance connection came.

"I've ne'er liked South Carolina," Dr. Jeter said. "My parents had play tickets to Clemson for 24 years and I grew up going to Clemson games."

While helium and his woman were excited astatine the anticipation of his lad attending ECU, they some understood that South Carolina gave him a amended changeable astatine achieving his eventual goal—making it to the NFL. Jeter became the Gamecocks starter arsenic a sophomore.  During 2 years successful Columbia helium made 23 of his 25 tract extremity attempts, including a game-winning 35-yard tract extremity to upset then-No. 8 Clemson successful 2022. 

After graduating from South Carolina with a grade successful biologic sciences, helium decided to transportation for his 2024 season, his last twelvemonth of eligibility. 

 "He was conscionable similar 'You know, I deliberation I'm going to effort and summation my worth a small bit,'" Dr. Jeter said. "'And spell someplace that has a small spot much offense, and a small much notoriety.'"

That spot was Notre Dame, which was looking for a kicker and successful request of improved peculiar teams play nether Marcus Freeman.

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Jeter's play with the Irish got disconnected to a beardown start. During Notre Dame's Week 1 crippled astatine Texas A&M, Jeter was a cleanable 3-for-3, including 2 46-yard tract goals. During Northern Illinois' Week 2 upset implicit the Irish, Jeter's 62-yard tract extremity effort connected the past play of the crippled was blocked, sending shockwaves astir the College Football world.

Mitch Jeter's groin and hep injuries

In Notre Dame's Week 3 crippled against Miami of Ohio, Jeter's archetypal wounded came during what was expected to beryllium a 51-yard tract extremity attempt. After a atrocious snap, Jeter recovered the shot and tried to get the shot backmost to the archetypal enactment of scrimmage by flipping it to his choky end. 

"He went hard down connected his close hip," Dr. Jeter said of the play. "[He] went skidding retired of bounds connected his facemask astir three, 4 yards heavy into the Notre Dame seat and past turned and landed connected his close hep again."

Jeter kept kicking contempt dealing with tightness successful his near leg. The adjacent week against Stanford connected a kickoff, Jeter heard thing popular successful his interior thigh.  He texted his parents aft the game. 

"That night, we checked him retired and helium was successful a batch of pain," Dr. Jeter said. "And you couldn't adjacent bash a thorough valuation due to the fact that helium was truly hurting." 

An MRI the adjacent time confirmed that Jeter sustained a people one/two strain of his abductor groin muscle. Jeter missed Notre Dame's adjacent 2 games against Georgia Tech and Navy with the injury. Dr. Jeter determined that successful summation to the groin injury, his lad was besides dealing with his close hep being subluxated and dislocated, which occurs erstwhile the hep associated is retired of position. 

During Notre Dame's bye week connected Nov. 2, Dr. Jeter called successful a favor. Not being capable to marque the travel up to South Bend himself, helium called connected his mentor, Dr. Mitch Mally, who Dr. Jeter interned successful chiropractic school.

"I said 'could you spell retired determination and cheque Mitch and instrumentality a look astatine that close femur for me?'" Dr. Jeter said. "And spot what you tin bash for him and get him started connected immoderate rehab? He said 'absolutely.'" 

Dr. Jeter's attraction plan

Dr. Mally worked with Jeter for 48 hours, kicking disconnected the assertive attraction program earlier Dr. Jeter could measurement in.

According to Dr. Jeter, his lad utilized assorted tools to recover, including afloat chiropractic sessions, massage therapy, therapeutic ultrasound, acold laser and electrical therapy, compression boots, cryotherapy, and adjacent Epsom brackish baths.

"We weren't repeating things each day," Dr. Jeter said of the rehab. "I was successful interaction with him and said 'hey what did you bash today? OK, let's bash this. What are you doing tomorrow?'" 

Jeter adjacent utilized a section YMCA's jacuzzi for hydrotherapy, arsenic his dada reached retired to galore different carnal therapists and chiropractors for proposal and expertise. 

"A batch of radical deliberation I pushed a magic fastener oregon whatever," Dr. Jeter continued. "But that's not what happened. This was a 12-week, afloat connected arduous process."  

Mitch Jeter's rocky return

As Jeter continued to effort and get healthy, his show was hit-or-miss. During Note Dame's November games, Jeter went 1-for-5 connected tract extremity attempts, but remained cleanable connected other points.

It helped that Notre Dame had astir 3 weeks disconnected betwixt its Nov. 30 regular-season finale against USC, and its first-round location crippled against Indiana. Against the Hoosiers, 1 of Jeter's tract extremity attempts was blocked successful the 4th quarter. That is Jeter's lone blemish during Notre Dame's playoff run. 

Against Georgia successful the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal, Jeter finished with much points himself (11) than the Bulldogs' full offense, which conscionable had 10. He was officially back.

Dr. Jeter connected becoming a meme

Ahead of Notre Dame's crippled against Georgia, Jeter talked to ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Sean McDonough during media availability astir however his dada helped him get healthy.

McDonough brought this speech up connected the broadcast, and the cameras archetypal started showing the Jeter household during games. Again and again.  Over and over. And of course, his telephone started blowing up.

Screenshot via ESPN CFB connected YouTube

Dr. Jeter says there's much to that successful summation to wanting to seizure the moment, helium films his son's kicks successful lawsuit thing goes wrong. 

"I lone person the video to spell backmost and spot thing that possibly my eyes didn't trust," Dr. Jeter explained. "Or if thing goes incorrect oregon you cognize again if helium gets hurt, I wanna cognize however the mechanics of wounded happens truthful that I tin effort to get aft it." 

The adjacent week successful the Orange Bowl semifinal against Penn State, Dr. Jeter, on with his wife, Jeter's sisters and respective different household members made the travel to Miami. The crippled was tied astatine 24-all with little than a infinitesimal left. Penn State backmost Drew Allar threw a pick, which gave ND the shot backmost astatine Penn State's 42. Dr. Jeter knew his lad would person the accidental to marque the game-winning kick. 

"Deep down, I knew helium was going to marque it," Dr. Jeter said. "And radical volition accidental 'oh that's arrogance' no, it's not arrogant, I'm assured successful him due to the fact that this is the benignant of happening helium lives for. This kid was the benignant of kid that wanted to beryllium the feline that was astatine bat with 2 outs successful the bottommost of the ninth and the people is tied."

Riley Leonard and Notre Dame's discourtesy got the Irish down to Penn State's 23, which acceptable Jeter up for a 43-yard game-winning footwear attempt. Of course, Jeter nailed it: 

"It's been an unthinkable thrust each done South Carolina and past done Notre Dame," Dr. Jeter said of watching his son's journey. "One of the reasons wherefore helium went to Notre Dame was due to the fact that helium thought they stood the champion accidental of making the nationalist championship. 

And truthful helium had immoderate lows, helium had immoderate highs but this has been his dream. This has been his beingness goal—to marque a past 2nd footwear to triumph it for his team."

Mitch Jeter's last ride

Notre Dame is an 8.5-point underdog against Ohio State. The Irish haven't won a nationalist rubric since the 1988-89 season, whereas OSU past won during the 2014-15 season. 

Regardless of however Monday night's crippled plays out, Jeter's resilience is simply a immense crushed wherefore Notre Dame is playing successful this game. And if his fig is called, you tin stake Jeter volition beryllium acceptable connected assemblage football's biggest stage. 

While Jeter's NFL hopes volition go clearer implicit the adjacent respective months, helium does person a beauteous decent backup plan. It's 1 that runs successful the family.  

"He knows and everybody knows that shot volition extremity someday," Dr. Jeter said. "You volition not play shot for the remainder of your life, truthful what are you gonna bash for the remainder of your life? Well, helium wants to spell to chiropractic school."

Just similar beloved aged dad.

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