Barons star picks ASU

As fast as Kyle Middlebrooks hits the hole in football, he waited a little bit longer to decide on a college.

That wait is over, though, as Middlebrooks has committed to Arizona State.

The Fountain Valley High senior running back had his in-home visit with the Sun Devils last week, he said. In-state rival University of Arizona was Middlebrooks’ other final choice, but former Wildcats offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes left to take the head coaching position at Louisiana Tech.

“Now, I don’t know what type of offense they’ll run,” Middlebrooks said. “It made it a little bit easier [to decide] for me.”

Middlebrooks, who also had visits to Washington and Utah, sat down with his family and decided Arizona State was the best fit for him. He rewrote the Fountain Valley record books this past fall by running for 1,875 yards and 23 touchdowns. Both marks broke his own records set the year before.

The two-time Sunset League Offensive Player of the Year and All-CIF player helped the Barons go 8-3, tied for second in the Sunset League and advancing to the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs. He had 29 total touchdowns, including six receiving.

Middlebrooks also stands out in track, where he finished second in the state in the 100 meters last year and is the top returner this year. He said the ASU coaches were fine with him running track in college.

“I’m really excited,” he said when asked about his senior year of track coming up. “It’ll be a fun time to try to break my own records and win state.”

As to why he decided he wanted to play in Arizona, he said his family played a role. He wanted them to be able to see them play as much as possible.

“It’s a lot easier for me [staying relatively closer to home],” Middlebrooks said. “I’ve got a big family.”

Arizona State went 4-8 in 2009, and 2-7 in the Pac-10.