Mike Sadler (2016) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Mike Sadler

Induction:
2016
Class:
2014

Mike Sadler
Football (2011-14)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2016

HIGHLIGHTS:
• MSU's first-ever four-time Academic All-American (2011-14), including earning first-team honors in 2013 & 2014
• 2013 First-Team All-American and two-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection (2012 & 2013)
• Member of MSU's 2013 Big Ten and 2014 Rose Bowl Championship team
• National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Finalist (2014)

On the field, Mike Sadler was a master of his craft and one of the greatest and most productive punters in program history. In the classroom, he achieved an ever rarer feat, becoming the first student-athlete at Michigan State to earn Academic All-America honors four times.

Sadler, a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection (2012, 2013), finished his career ranked among MSU's all-time leaders in punts (second with 268), punting yards (second with 11,307) and punting average (sixth at 42.2). A valuable weapon on special teams, he placed 39 percent of his career punts inside the 20 (104-of-268) and 21 percent inside the 10 (56-of-268). Also a holder, Sadler played in 54 career games, tied for the most in school history.

Sadler earned first-team Academic All-America honors in 2013 and 2014 and second-team accolades in 2011 and 2012. In addition to becoming MSU's first-ever four-time honoree, he also became just the third Spartan (Dean Altobelli, 1985-86; Steve Wasylk, 1992-93) and 34th Big Ten football player to earn first-team Academic All-America honors twice.

"Mike Sadler affected millions of people," said Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio. "He was one of those people that brightened your day. I always say to try and be a light, and he was a light in this world.

"Mike is truly rewarding of this honor. He was one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Michigan State, both on the field winning championships and in the classroom earning Academic All-America honors four times. I want to thank our administration and the Hall of Fame committee for being proactive and having the foresight to make this announcement. Mike's incredible career at Michigan State deserves to be recognized in the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame."

A member of the 2014 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Class, Sadler was one of 17 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is given to the nation's top scholar-athlete.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sadler graduated with a bachelor's degree in applied engineering sciences in May 2013 with a 3.97 grade-point average. He received his master's degree in public policy in May 2015 with a 3.84 graduate GPA.

Sadler also was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection (2011-14) and a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2012-13). He was presented the scholar-athlete award at the Spartan Academic Excellence Gala three consecutive years (2013-15) for having the highest GPA on the team for players who have reached at least junior academic status.

In a 2014 interview, late in his playing career, Sadler reflected on his time at Michigan State.

"Academics is important to me and I think that my family instilled this in me at a very young age. We know that at some point football is going to end, it's going to be taken away from us and we're not going to be good enough to play at the next level, or we might be injured. So, what do you do when that happens? Well, fortunately I know that I have my academics. I'm going to be very well off, regardless of how long my football career is.

"Now that my career here is coming to a close, I've had a lot of time to reflect and look back on everything that I've done. I've been very fortunate in my time here at Michigan State to have lots of success, both as a team and as an individual. I think winning the 2014 Rose Bowl is probably the highlight of my time here; it was something that hadn't been done in decades here. Individually, I've also had a very good career. I was an All-American on and off the field. Really, the academic awards mean more to me than anything, just because those are going to be with me for my whole life."

A four-year starter at punter, Sadler was one of 14 freshmen starting punters in the NCAA FBS in 2011, and earned third-team Freshman All-America honors by Phil Steele after averaging 41.1 yards per punt (61 punts for 2,509 yards). The redshirt freshman tied for 12th in the FBS with 25 punts inside the 20 and also pinned 11 punts inside the 10, which tied for eighth most in the nation. Sadler set season highs in punting average (50.1 yards per punt), punts (8) and punting yards (401) and placed four punts inside the 20 in Michigan State's win over No. 18 Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl.

Sadler followed that up with an even better season as a sophomore in 2012, garnering first-team All-Big Ten honors as he led the Big Ten with a career-best 43.3 yards per punt. He ranked second in the Big Ten with 31 punts downed inside the 20, and had 19 punts of 50-plus yards, which ranked first in the Big Ten. His 3,422 punting yards ranked second most in a MSU single-season.

He was named to ESPN.com's Big Ten All-Bowl Team after setting MSU's single-game bowl records for punts (11) and punting yards (481) in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against TCU. The 481 punting yards established a career high and were the most by a Big Ten punter in a single game in 2012, while the 11 punts tied for second most. He broke the bowl records he set in the 2012 Outback Bowl against Georgia (eight punts for 401 yards). Sadler was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week that season after averaging 46.6 yards on seven punts vs. No. 21 Nebraska, including three placed inside the 2. He also had a 26-yard run on a fake punt at Michigan.

Sadler earned All-America status on the field during MSU's Big Ten and Rose Bowl Championship season in 2013, as he was named a first-team All-American by CBSSports.com and ESPN.com. A Ray Guy Award semifinalist, Sadler ranked fourth in the Big Ten in punting with his 42.5-yard average and led the NCAA FBS with 24 punts downed inside the 10 and ranked tied for second with 33 inside the 20. He also had eight punts downed inside the 5, including three at the 1-yard line. In addition, he had 16 punts of 50-plus yards and ranked seventh in MSU single-season history with 3,233 punting yards.

In the 2014 Rose Bowl win over No. 5 Stanford, Sadler averaged 45.5 yards per punt, including a 55-yarder, while also placing three of his six punts inside the 20 against the Cardinal. He pinned four of his seven punts inside the 10 in the victory at Nebraska, including one that was fumbled at the 8-yard line and another that was downed at the 1; he also gained 3 yards on a fake field goal that helped propel Michigan State to a touchdown scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, giving MSU a 34-21 lead. Sadler placed three of his five punts inside the 20 in the win over No. 23 Michigan, including two inside the 10.

Sadler was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time in his career and was also awarded the College Football Performance Awards National Punter of the Week after averaging a career-best 59.2 yards on four punts in the win over Indiana, including a season-long 69-yarder in the fourth quarter; his 59.2-yard average against the Hoosiers established a Big Ten single-game record (minimum four punts). He averaged 44.4 yards on five punts at Iowa, including two inside the 20 and a 51-yarder, and also ran a fake punt 25 yards for a first down that helped set up Michael Geiger's 49-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. On three career carries, Sadler averaged 18 yards per attempt (three for 54 yards) and gained three first downs.

An honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2014, he ranked seventh in the Big Ten in punting with his 41.2-yard average. Sadler averaged a season-best 46.3 yards per punt (six punts for 278 yards), including a season-long 66-yarder and two inside the 20, at Maryland. He received the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor in 2015.

Sadler was scheduled to begin law school at Stanford in the fall of 2016 before tragically dying in a car accident at the age of 24 on July 23, 2016, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He was posthumously inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 2020, Sadler was named to the Big Ten Network All-Decade Team for the 2010s.

His legacy lives on through the Michael Sadler Foundation.