STETZON BAIR SIGNS WITH OREGON

Tony Boone, tony.boone@nonpareilonline.com

With an older brother in the NFL, Stetzon Bair realizes he has some big shoes to fill.
Fortunately, large feet often accompany a 6-foot-7, 265-pound frame.

The Iowa Western defensive lineman made good on his pledge to attend the alma mater of his brother, Kansas City Chiefs rookie Brandon, Wednesday when he signed a National Letter of Intent with Oregon. Bair, who will have three years of eligibility with the Ducks, knows the footsteps he’s about to follow.

“He’s really good, so the expectations for me over there are really high,” he said. “Everyone’s going to be saying you’ve got to do what he’s done and comparing me to him. He’s good, and he plays in the NFL. If they’re going to compare me to him, then I’ve got to work harder.”

Bair basically reintroduced himself to football in 2011. After graduating from high school in Idaho, he spent five months working in Alaska before beginning a two-year Mormon mission.
Idaho State had initially signed Bair. Oregon began recruiting him after his mission work.
But when he went to Eugene, Ore., on a visit, Bair found out he was less than two credits shy of being eligible for NCAA play. He’s been in Council Bluffs since last spring to amend that.

Bair finished with 22 tackles while playing nine games for the No. 7 Reivers this past fall.
“It’s actually been a great experience out here,” he said. “Obviously, it wasn’t the D-I experience I wanted right off the bat. It’s something I wasn’t expecting.”

Bair, placed at IWCC by Oregon after the Ducks signed former Reiver Jared Ebert, went through spring as a defensive end then moved to defensive tackle before the season began.
As a 22-year-old freshman engaged to be married, he took some lighthearted ribbing from his younger teammates. But Bair called his short stay in Council Bluffs a positive experience.

“It’s kind of been a long journey, but it’s been well worth it,” he said. “It was definitely something I needed to do. It’s really helped me out and prepared me for the next level.”

Although returning to Oregon was the plan all along, two other schools (Utah and Weber State) made full-ride offers to Bair. Because his fiancée is a scholarship volleyball player at Weber, he explored opportunities for them both to garner free educations together.

In the end, however, Oregon seemed like the right place for them both. Bair’s fiancée, Bethany Wray, gave up her scholarship at Weber State to play with the Ducks for her senior season this fall.

“We prayed about it for a long time,” Bair said. “It was the best situation in the long run.”


Bair was the only Reiver to sign on National Signing Day, all other Reiver's signed in December and transferred to four-year schools for the Spring semester.

Iowa Western 2011 Transfers:

Stetzon Bair - DL - Oregon
Eric Simmons - OL - Iowa
Cory Morrissey - DL - Iowa State
Ryan Hubbell - TE - Louisville
Matt Waters - WR - Ohio
Ty Branz - DL - Ohio
DQ Johnson - DB - North Texas
Alfred Sharp - OL - New Mexico State
Andrew Brown - DB - South Dakota State
Evan Williams - WR - Northern Iowa
Drake Ferch - DB - Iowa State
Andre Dawson - RB - Iowa
Adam Kuhl - LS - Northern Illinois
Joey Goff - LB - Iowa State
Austin Knowlton - WR - South Dakota State
Jalen Barnes - DB - Northern Iowa
Cole Jackson - DL - Minnesota Crookston
Tyler Bos - OL - Minnesota Crookston
Nolan Long - OL - Morningside
Quinten Hall - DL - Grandview