Cody Stufflebean striving to be a force in the trenches for Wildcats

FRISCO, Texas — Kansas State’s senior edge rusher is approaching his final season with motivation, and making it a priority to finish his career on a high note.

Cody Stufflebean has the experience, leadership and production to demand respect in the locker room. After all, he has started every game for the Wildcats over the past two seasons. Not to mention Stufflebean racked up 36 tackles, including seven for loss and four sacks during that span. He’s a highly-intelligent defender too, being a three-time, Academic All-Big 12 performer.

The Kansas native is full of excitement when it comes to anchoring Kansas State’s defensive line, and believes the unit will be a team strength this fall. Which is why Stufflebean continues to sharpen his skills off the edge, as far as burst, explosion, first step, flexibility and manuevering past would-be blockers.

“Just playing with discipline, and knowing my assignments,” Stufflebean said. “I kind of pride myself in not having missed assignments, or messing up in that aspect of the game.”

Stufflebean has the potential to have an All-Big 12 campaign. The former three-star prospect gave Kansas State a fans a glimpse of his tenacity when he put quarterback Shedeur Sanders to the turf in the victory at Colorado. The 6-foot-4, 257-pounder also made signal-caller Athan Kaliakmanis eat grass in the bowl win over Rutgers.

Everything appears to be coming full circle for Stufflebean, and he plans on taking on a captain-type of role this fall. When he talks in the huddle, his teammates listen. Stufflebean is also taking the younger defensive linemen under his wing, and showing them the Wildcat way.

“Being able to organize meetings and walkthroughs that are extra outside of the coaches,” he said. “Kind of give some wisdom that I learned from the past is something I try to do a lot more of this year than I have in the past.”

Kansas State’s defense ranked second in the Big 12 against the run, and sacks per game in 2024, and Stufflebean was instrumental in that success. Now he’s confident the Wildcats can be more dominant on defense, and expects Joe Klanderman to field his best unit yet. Playing for one of the longest-tenured assistants in the conference is beneficial in Stufflebean’s eyes.

“I think he (Klanderman) does a really good job of putting us in the right situations at the right time, and he does a lot of film and homework throughout the week to be able to put us in successful positions on Saturdays,” the defensive end said. “So it helps you as a player when you know his scheme, and it helps you play fast and free when you know what to expect.”

Fall camp is a little over three weeks away, and Kansas State has a ton of motivation as the season-opener against Iowa State in Ireland looms. The Cyclones have won two-straight over the Wildcats, and that’s bulletin board material for Stufflebean and his teammates. Stufflebean understands that a week zero win in the Aer Lingus Classic would set the tone for the rest of the season. Regardless, he’s going to be pushing his teammates, and grinding hard everyday in practice leading up to the kickoff.

“I would say since it’s week zero, it kind of puts you on a pedestal where everybody in America is going to be watching, so that’s kind of a big aspect when you go and play a game like that.”