Michels attended La Jolla High School, where he was a three time letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, he was a two-way starter and was named First-team All-American and Western League Defensive MVP as a defensive tackle, and First-team All-San Diego County as an offensive tackle. In track and field, he was the 1991 Western League Champion in the discus.
Michels was named as one of San Diego's 100 all-time greatest prep football players by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
In 1997, he returned as the starting left tackle, starting the first five games of the season before injuring his right knee against the Detroit Lions. He was sidelined for the rest of the season and replaced by that year's first round pick Ross Verba. After having his best training camp as a professional in 1998, he again injured his right knee and spent the year on injured reserve. Unable to recover from his knee injury, he struggled in training camp in 1999 and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for defensive end Jon Harris. Michels only lasted a couple of weeks in Philadelphia before his knee injury ultimately ended his career.
Personal
Born John Spiegel Michels Jr., Michels is the great-great-grandson of Joseph Spiegel, the founder of Spiegel Catalog, which was one of the most important firms in the mail-order industry, and arguably the first.
From 2000 to 2002 he served as the Youth Director at Canyon Hills Church in Mission Viejo, California.