Look, we’re not sure why Easton Stick’s parents named him Easton Stick either. He’s not on the record talking about it. Neither is anyone else in his family.
But here’s the thing. The Los Angeles Chargers’ backup-turned-starter is pretty dang interesting in his own right. He was a prolific collegiate quarterback. He’s been simmering on the Chargers’ roster for years waiting for an opportunity like the one he’ll get in Week 15 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders — the first regular season start of his career. He’s the next man up in a lineage of surprising passers like Tyson Bagent, Tommy DeVito, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
He’ll have to hope his season turns out more like Tommy Cutlets than the rest of this year’s underwhelming emergency QBs. Here’s what you should know about him.
1
We don't know whether or not he's named after the hockey equipment ... but if he were, he wouldn't be the only North American pro athlete to be named after a stick.
The Stick family hasn’t gone on record telling the world why their son is named Easton. But if Easton Cowan — the 28th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft — is any indication, they may have been inspired by the manufacturer ubiquitous with broken sticks.
In Cowan’s father’s own words:
“Heather [Stick’s mother] liked the name Cooper. So I said, as a joke being a sports orientated family, why don’t we just name him Bauer or Easton? And Heather’s like ‘OK, Easton sounds like a pretty good name.'”
Does that have any bearing on the Chargers quarterback? No! Is it interesting two different pro athletes have the name Easton? A little!
2
He's the winningest quarterback in Division I history
Stick started for four seasons with the North Dakota State Bison. In that span he:
- went 49-3.
- won three national titles (and a fourth in his redshirt 2014 season).
- had 45 total touchdowns in the Bison’s 15-0 2018 season, running for 268 yards across the team’s FCS semifinal and championship wins.
- defeated then-No. 13 Iowa as a redshirt sophomore in 2016.
No one in Division I has more wins as a starter than Stick. Next closest is his current offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who won 46 games in his career at Boise State.
3
He'd thrown exactly one (1) regular season pass before Justin Herbert's Week 14 injury
The good news: it was a completion. The bad news: it was a screen pass that net four total yards.
Stick was the team’s third-string quarterback behind Herbert in 2020 when the then-rookie was pressed into action by Tyrod Taylor’s collapsed lung. He’s since made plenty of preseason appearances (13 games, 1,175 passing yards) but has been scarely seen doing anything more challenging than relaying plays to Los Angeles’ franchise quarterback over his five-year NFL career.
4
He predates Justin Herbert on the Chargers' roster
Stick was a fifth round selection in 2019. Herbert was the sixth overall pick in 2020. Stick’s place on the roster didn’t prevent Los Angeles from spending a premium pick on a quarterback and, hoo buddy, this was the right decision.
5
His college warmup routine, which included dribbling a football like Steph Curry, went viral back in 2018
Look, this has no bearing on his actual play as quarterback. Still, it’s pretty cool.
Been around football my entire life and can’t say I’ve ever seen this. pic.twitter.com/AGiH2fcm9m
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) December 8, 2018
