Ball State offered him a scholarship two days later. Larsen committed to the Cardinals on Friday.
“My campus visit was only like 30 minutes, so it was a short visit, but it felt like the place I was supposed to be,” Larsen said. “They were showing me a lot of interest and the defensive backs coach is a great coach. He definitely knows what he is talking about.”
Larsen (5-foot-11, 178 pounds) had offers from Morehead State, an FCS school in Kentucky, and Davenport University, an NAIA school in Michigan. A day after he committed to Ball State, Bowling Green extended an offer, but that doesn’t change anything, according to Larsen.
Fairfield coach Jason Krause said he contacted all the Mid-American Conference schools that were recruiting Larsen to let them know Ball State had offered, just to see what kind of interest they really had. Larsen gave it a couple days but was ready to commit to the Cardinals.
“I really wanted to commit so I could focus on my senior season and helping my team win a championship,” Larsen said. “It felt like a good fit, and I’m excited about the opportunity.”
As a junior last season, Larsen played cornerback for the Indians (6-4), earning second team All-Greater Miami Conference honors. However, for his senior season, he will switch to safety, where he projects to play in college.
Larsen was part of a Fairfield defense that averaged the fewest yards (228.7) and points (12.1) allowed per game in GMC competition. He hopes to help the Indians to a GMC title and said he is focusing on getting his weight up to 185 pounds by the start of this season.
“The most interesting thing about Mitchell is his explosiveness and speed,” Krause said. “He ran a 4.52(-second) 40-yard dash, and his vertical jump was 39.5 inches, and he’s consistently been in the 4.5s and jumping over 37 inches. He’s a very good tackler, a physical style of player, and he’s just a great kid.
“He works hard, he’s a good student and has been really committed in the offseason. He’s really wanting to be a football player.”
Larsen is the first football player to commit from his class at Fairfield, but wide receiver TC Wells, defensive lineman Todd Ross and quarterback Hunter Krause all have Division I interest and at least one offer — all of them have been offered by Davenport, and Ross also has one from Morehead State.
Defensive lineman Micah Vann and running back David Keeling also have drawn looks but no offers yet, and Malik Vann, from the Class of 2018, already has an offer from Cincinnati.
“Our senior class has quite a few kids who will get more interest as the season gets underway,” Krause said. “We have a lot of great players.”
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