When Leeshaun Mumpfield and Javen Sewell met in a youth football league, they never saw becoming national champions together in their future.
Mumpfield and Sewell are teammates at Ferris State, where they won their second consecutive NCAA Division II national championship in January — the program’s fourth in five years.
Mumpfield and Sewell have been playing together since they were 12 and 13 years old.
It was fate for them to become a dynamic duo, because they were on the verge of quitting football when they met.
“I told my dad I want to go back, I want to start back playing, but I want to go to the (Detroit’s Eastside) Raiders before I went back,” Mumpfield said. “I went to their first practice, and that’s how I met JJ. I didn’t know it was gonna be like this.”
“Lee had come and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, can he throw?’” said Sewell, who was already playing for the Raiders. “When he started throwing the ball, we were like, “Yeah, this our new quarterback.”
Their journey together almost didn’t continue into high school.
Instead of teammates, they were going to be rivals, with Mumpfield planning to attend Detroit King, and Sewell heading to Detroit Cass Tech.
Sewell knew early on he wanted to go to Cass Tech for football because of ties between his dad and the head coach at the time, Thomas Wilcher. He started attending summer workouts with Mumpfield and was on a mission to convince his friend to join him.
Mumpfield wouldn’t have been the starting quarterback at King, or potentially not played at all, so he gave Cass Tech a chance.
“I went to Cass, went to their practice, I practiced a little bit, and then I saw JJ was there and his dad was talking to my dad,” Mumpfield said. “They basically said I could have started and then his dad was like, ‘You might as well come over here with your boy man’ so I went over there.”
Playing both junior varsity and varsity together their first year in high school, they were the only freshmen fulfilling both roles, and they enjoyed standout first seasons.
They won the 2019-2020 Junior Varsity PSL championship and finished 9-0, with Mumpfield receiving the 2020 Detroit PSL Rookie of the Year award. Both were honorable mention selections on the 2020 Detroit News All-State Team for Divisions 1-2, Mumpfield at quarterback, and Sewell at defensive back.
Though they were undersized for their positions and were seen as underdogs, that didn’t stop them from motivating each other to prove people wrong.
Helping Cass Tech win three city championships was one way to silence the outside noise. After that, they headed to Ferris State together.
It was a tough transition at first when they got to Ferris. They both redshirted their freshman season and had to find their groove on the team.
“I used to want to compare myself to people and stuff, especially when I got to Ferris — I lost myself,” Sewell said. “I had to learn to focus on my daily grind and what I put in work wise every day, like helping me stay focused to get where I want to be.”
The time helped them tremendously, and Mumpfield specifically found different ways to be an asset to the team.
He knew he could be something on the team, and became a valuable player, calling plays on the headset for the last two seasons, while also playing special teams. Mumpfield appeared in 15 games last season, tallying 21 carries for 95 yards and four touchdowns, while also completing 3 of 5 passes at quarterback for 15 yards.
Sewell appeared in nine games last season, registering three total tackles.
Life has already has started pulling them in different directions. On Dec. 26, 2025, Mumpfield proposed to his high school sweetheart and officially tied the knot on June 12, 2026.
“I will enter my name in the draft, I will enter my name in other places, wherever I can go to still play the game of football, still get paid and provide for my family,” Mumpfield said. “If it’s not football, I still will go pursue my degree, which is psychology, and be a child psychologist, and eventually own my own practice with (wife) Elliyah, and still provide for my family and just go through life.”
Sewell was right there for his friend, though not a part of the wedding party because he had his own business to take care of during the preparation process. In April, he became a spring 2026 initiate of the Phi Zeta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
amarable@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: For ex-Cass Tech stars, journey to titles at Ferris State started in childhood
Reporting by Alauna Marable , The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alauna Marable , The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
