#47 Cody Stufflebean — After converting from tight end to defensive end prior to the 2022 season, senior Cody Stufflebean (47) finally broke through with playing time, seeing considerable action in the last two seasons. Now he projects as a defensive line stalwart in 2024. | Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the 47th day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State defensive end Cody Stufflebean.

NOTE: Kansas State has elected to advance players’ classification even though the 2020 season did not affect eligibility. Those who wish to take advantage of this extra year will be listed as a (“super”) senior again after their original eligibility would have been exhausted.

#47 Cody Stufflebean

Redshirt Senior | 6-4 | 252 lbs. | McPherson, Kansas

Position: Defensive End
Previous College: None
Projection: Third-String
Status: On Scholarship

Cody Curtis Stufflebean (b. June 29, 2001) is a big, physical player from McPherson High School majoring in industrial engineering who redshirted in 2020 and did not see any game action in 2020 or 2021. He transitioned from tight end to defensive end at the end of 2021.

This proved to be a good move for Stufflebean, as he saw action in all 14 games in 2022 as both a reserve defensive end and on special teams, and was first-team Academic All-Big 12.

He carded seven tackles during the Big 12 Championship season, including a career-high three in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama, and also had single tackles against South Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma and Iowa State.

Stufflebean played in all 13 games of 2023 as a regular member of the playing rotation, carding 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.

He had a banner day against Baylor when he set a career high with four tackles and carded his first two sacks, the first of which caused a fumble that was returned 15 yards for a touchdown by Desmond Purnell,

Stufflebean, now happily married, also had three tackles at both Texas and Kansas, plus half a tackle for loss at Oklahoma State, and picked up first-team Academic All-Big 12 accolades as well as 2023 Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators and being named to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society list.

He prepped under head coach Jace Pavlovich at McPherson, where he was viewed as the 88th-best athlete in the Class of 2020 by 247Sports, while ESPN rated him as a defensive end, placing him No. 96 on the list.

Stufflebean was named to the 2019 Wichita Eagle Top-11 Team and was a first-team all-state performer by both The Topeka Capital-Journal and The Wichita Eagle in addition to being named the league’s Defensive Most Valuable Player. He was named to the 2019 Kansas Football Coaches Association Top 11 Team and was an all-state pick by the organization.

He finished his final prep season with 44 tackles, eight sacks and a forced fumble in just 21 quarters as the Bullpups outscored opponents 439-99 in 2019; had 12 catches for 193 yards and six touchdowns as a tight end; and was selected to play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl.

Stufflebean, who was a 4.0-GPA student in high school, also lettered in basketball, earning first team all-league honors, and track, finishing second at the state meet in javelin and sixth in shot put as a junior.

He chose K-State over offers from Air Force, Akron, Army, Colorado, Kent State, Ohio, South Dakota, Toledo, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, plus interest by Georgia Tech and Iowa State.

His primary recruiters were former offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham, current defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and all-star recruiting coordinator Taylor Braet.

I’ve “demoted” Stufflebean from second-string to third-string status, but it’s no disrespect to him and rather a commentary on depth at his position, as his head coach said last week:

We’ve been really fortunate that we’ve always had a lot of depth in our defensive line. Coach Tui and Coach Wyatt do a great job, and we’re probably going to have eight or nine deep on the defensive line, and we’ve always rotated guys really well.

But we’ve got two six-year defensive ends in Brendan Mott and Cody Stufflebean coming back that have been in the program for a long time. And those young kids will play a lot to a high standard, to high expectations.

But I’m really comfortable and excited about the amount of defensive linemen we have that have played a lot of Big 12 football, as well as some of the new guys we have coming on, some freshmen that will be redshirt freshmen that I think can really be effective pass rushers. And there’s no doubt about it, you’ve got to be able to stop the run, and you’ve got to be able to get a good rush on the passer.

Defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt is still very high on his veteran and called him a leader:

Stufflebean is “a strong kid, and he’s moving extremely well” after leaning up and cutting body fat during the offseason.

“I’m hoping he can improve his pass rush a little bit, but I know he can play the run,” Wyatt said. “That’s what he does very well. He’s done a good job in the offseason getting himself ready for that.”