Mike Ebey

Retired US Secret Service Agent. Football Coach. Ferris State Alum. Husband, Father, Son, Brother.

[Ferris Athletics @ferrisathletics]

HALL OF FAME CANDIDATE! Four-time Ferris State Football head coach Tony Annese has been named to the 2026 Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Ballot! Vote for Coach Annese now thru June 12 in the public vote!
https://t.co/4OLhpKoUPQ
Vote here: https://t.co/yYDmvaBJDt

[Ferris St. Football @FerrisFootball]

DOMINANCE! Incredible run by the Dawgs! 4 D2 National Championships, 7 GLIAC Championships, 7 NCAA Semifinal appearances, 4 Gene Upshaw Awards, 3 Harlon Hill Trophies, a 30-game win streak, a NCAA record 844 points & a historic 16-0 NCAA record in the Tony Annese era! #InTheFold

[Ferris Athletics @ferrisathletics]

KEY TO THE CITY! Four-Time National Champion head coach Tony Annese was presented the "Key To The City" of Big Rapids at yesterday's championship parade by Big Rapids Mayor Fred Guenther! @FerrisFootball

[Ryan Hodges @hodgimoto1]

Get registered now for one of our 6 prospect camps that we are hosting this summer!! Great opportunity at an affordable price!!

https://t.co/ALSIuElWLQ

[Ryan Hodges @hodgimoto1]

Ferris Clinic Details

[Detroit Pistons @DetroitPistons]

Your Detroit Pistons are the Central Division Champs. 🔥

[Detroit Tigers @tigers]

KEVIN McGONIGLE IS BUILT FOR THIS.

[Fox News @FoxNews]

A CENTURY OF CHEERS: 109-year-old Arthur Green, a World War II and Korean War veteran, throws out the ceremonial first pitch for the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day.

Green is reportedly a lifelong Orioles fan, and has supported the team since it relocated to Baltimore in 1954.

[Mike Ebey @CoachEbey]

@RockfordRamsFB @CoachBanaszak Homerun for the Rams! Absolute stud

[DK🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 @1Nicdar]

130 schools said no.
He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway.
Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami.

He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed.
So did FIU.
So did FAU.
So did everyone else.

At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs.
Not one FBS offer.
His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path.

Everyone told him to be “realistic.”
“Know your place.”
“Be grateful.”
He didn’t listen.
Because Mendoza understood something most people miss:
The worst outcome isn’t failing.
It’s never getting the chance to try.

Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang.
Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools.
He took it.
He arrived as the third-string quarterback.
Spent a year on the scout team.
Lost his first four starts.
Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line.

Still got up. Every time.
Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him.
So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes.
He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history.

People laughed.
“Career suicide.”
“Graveyard program.”
“Nobody wins there.”
One coach told him something different:
“I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.”
That was enough.
Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football.
His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years.

Before every snap, he thought of her.
“My mother is my why.”
Indiana went 16–0.
Beat six Top-10 teams.
Won their first Big Ten title since 1945.
Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns.
Won the Heisman—first in school history.
First Cuban-American to ever do it.

Then came the title game.
Miami. Near his hometown.
Fourth-and-4. Season on the line.
Quarterback draw.
The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone.

Game over.
Indiana—national champions.
The losingest program became the best team in America.
All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end.

Rankings don’t decide your ceiling.
Gatekeepers don’t write your ending.
Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point.

Sometimes all you need is one shot…
and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will.
Don’t quit.

Credit: Barclay Mullins

[Ferris St. Football @FerrisFootball]

Coach Annese hugs Trinidad after the game. Super proud of all he accomplished!

[Alec Giannakopoulos @news8alec]

Before their trip to New Orleans, I talked to Trinidad Chambliss' parents Trent and @cherylchambl. They talked about how the great people Trinidad met in Forest Hills Northern, @FerrisFootball, and Ole Miss helped create the athlete who just beat Georgia. Story below:

[Dane Messer @dmesser_25]

Skip Tulane Vs. Ole Miss and watch two Triple Option teams go at it for the D2 National title

[Mike Ebey @CoachEbey]

Let’s GOOO

[Ferris State Univ. @FerrisState]

HEADING BACK TO TEXAS 🤠

Ferris State defeats Newberry 49-17. The Bulldogs will be competing AGAIN for the national championship next weekend in McKinney! GO DAWGS!

@FerrisFootball | @FerrisAthletics

[Coach Annese @CoachAnnese]

Go Dawgs!

[Detroit Tigers @tigers]

ONE OF ONE.

Tarik Skubal is your BACK-TO-BACK American League Cy Young Award Winner‼️

[Ferris State Univ. @FerrisState]

OURS.

The Anchor-Bone Trophy is staying in Big Rapids! The Bulldogs defeat the Lakers 38-31. #WeBuildChampions

@ferrisathletics | @FerrisFootball | @GLIACsports

[FloCollege | Football @FloCollegeFB]

D1 isn’t always the dream.

Coach Tony Annese explains why Ferris State’s culture, consistency, and championships speak louder than labels.

Full episode of Beyond The Whistle now on @FloCollege: https://t.co/KzWTEffIl1

#GLIACFB | @GLIACsports | @FerrisFootball

[Bullrush Sports @bullrush_sports]

Remembering Eric Bennett, former @FerrisFootball OL who lost his life on September 11, 2001 at age 29. The annual Outstanding OL Award at Ferris is named in his honor. A great teammate & an even better person. https://t.co/9IL0zQQfms #911