“It’s Personal”: Transfer Linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz Brings Fire to Wyoming
- Jeff Bugher
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Is any Wyoming football player’s journey to Laramie ordinary?
Many of the players we interview have a story that is so similar…overlooked…too small. The same is the case for transfer linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz, whose road to Laramie has been anything but ordinary. Of course, we cannot forget the COVID-era recruiting challenge while he attended Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School. One thing is for sure: the 6-foot-4, 235-pound transfer has built his career on one thing: betting on himself.
“I was a junior when COVID hit. So that kind of hurt my recruiting a lot,” Stuhlsatz said. “I was getting told I played safety in high school and they're like, well, you're 6’4, 6’5-ish at 225, you're too big to be a safety and too light to play linebacker. That kind of hurt as well. That stacked on top of COVID… I was just like, you know what, I'm gonna bet on myself.”
That decision led him to Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, where he started his first two games before being sidelined with mononucleosis (Mono). After a medical hardship, he returned the next season, earning interest from multiple schools.
At Butler CC, Stuhlsatz had 29 total tackles.
“I got a few offers, got Missouri State, Lindenwood and a few others. Lindenwood was the fit for me, and I went there. Was there this past two years, two and a half about, and then this past winter I decided to hop in the portal. Better myself again. I just wanted to make myself uncomfortable, wanted competition, and decided on Wyoming.”
At Lindenwood (St. Charles, Missouri), Stuhlsatz appeared in nine FCS games. He earned Second Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors with 76 combined tackles.
No easy road: being overlooked early in his career still fuels him.
“Yeah, definitely. Just being overlooked in that sense and not being able to prove to them the abilities I have without getting that fair opportunity… I'm going to take it personally, even if they didn’t mean it that way. That’s just who I am. I’ll make up scenarios in my head and whatnot. But that’s just how I took it.”
What made Wyoming make sense for Stuhlsatz? The coaches. Additionally, Wyoming’s reputation for producing top-caliber NFL linebackers, such as Logan Wilson with the Cincinnati Bengals and Chad Muma with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Really, it was just the coaches. And then another big thing was that they produce linebackers here. The proof is in the pudding. If I have that opportunity to play after college, that’s something I want to take up. That just seemed like the right decision.”
Speaking of coaches, head coach Jay Sawvel has talked a lot about catching players on the rise, which is clearly happening with Stuhlsatz.
Stuhlsatz is a graduate student working toward his MBA, which he tells us he will earn in December. He’s embracing his time in Laramie, but remains focused on football.
“Laramie is a pretty cool, neat town. It’s smaller than I’m used to, but I like that there’s really no distractions out here. I’m a grad student, so I want to take everything seriously right now. Within the football team, I’ve been really impressed. One thing I love is the sense of urgency with everything they do. They really strive for perfection and push all of us and hold all of us to a high standard. That’s something you want - you don’t ever want to feel comfortable.”
On the field, Stuhlsatz expects to make his mark at middle linebacker, and he has goals he wants to achieve.
“They have me at MIKE right now. That’s the role I want to take on. Goal-wise, I just want to make a lot of tackles, I want to win, and I want to be known as just a hard-hitting linebacker in the Mountain West. Make a name for myself.”
For fans watching him this fall, he hopes his effort will be obvious.
“I want them to see high energy, high motor, never taking a play off, doing the right thing, not making stupid mistakes.”
As for Wyoming’s defensive identity, Stuhlsatz says it’s all about physicality, a term that has been thrown around a lot this year.
“We run the 4-2-5, and it’s got to be hard-hitting, especially in this Mountain West Conference. You’ve got to play with violence. Scheme-wise, we want to be able to blitz a lot, but that only comes if we can prove that. We’ve just got to be assignment-sound in any man and zone coverages.”
We asked him about his December recruiting visit to Wyoming, and the Kansas native laughed about the adjustment to the High Plains weather.
“It did kind of take me by surprise, but I’d heard from a lot of people that it was pretty cold up here. Living in Wichita, Kansas, that’s about as bipolar weather as you can get, so I’ve had a little bit of a taste of it all.”
Off the field, he keeps things simple, Wyoming-like…fishing, hiking, basketball, and the occasional video game session.
Wyoming has no returning starting linebackers for the 2025 season, meaning Wyoming needs Stuhlsatz's experience to move the defense forward. Stuhlsatz also has two years of eligibility left.
Wyoming offers a home Stuhlsatz has been looking for: an opportunity, a competition, and a program that mirrors his own mindset - relentless, urgent, and unafraid to bet on himself.
Don't forget to sign up for our email list, and follow us on our socials!
Subscribe to receive our newsletter here (no spam, we promise): Subscribe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pokesnews
X (formerly known as Twitter): https://x.com/Pokes_News
Comments