Temple University Athletics
Stuart and Surprenant: Different Paths Leading to the Same Position
11.21.25 | Football
When junior college transfers Katin Surprenant and Eric Stuart arrived at Temple in 2024, they brought with them two completely different football journeys that were both shaped by California roots, JUCO resilience, and the belief that Temple was the next right step.
Now, they share the same position of middle linebacker and a similar dream for the future.
For Surprenant, the road to Philadelphia started at Colorado. After a year there, he moved back home and played at Mt. San Antonio College, where his recruitment took off again. "I ended up with seven or eight offers out of JUCO," he said. "This was one of my last visits, right before signing day. It was a last-second thing, and it ended up being the best fit for me."
His decision brought him far from Southern California, where the pace was slower and the winters nonexistent. "First day of school and there's snow on the ground," he laughed. "Not happy about it. And everything out here is fast paced. Back home it's beach-style, laid back. Here, if you're at a stoplight more than a second, you're getting honked at."
His family felt the shift, too. Surprenant remembers the first night he and his dad stayed in a Philadelphia hotel. "It was so noisy compared to what I was used to," he said. "Back home it's quiet. My dad was like, 'Are you sure about this?' My mom was completely against it at first." However, after visits with other programs, his mother's perspective shifted, and she grew confident that he belonged here at Temple. "It ended up working out," he said. "I'm happy here."
Football was never a childhood certainty for Surprenant. He grew up in soccer – his mother was a college coach – and played baseball at a high level into high school. "I never played football until my junior year," he said. "I picked up football because I wanted to lift more weights. That was literally it. Starting out as linebacker, I was just 'see ball, get ball.' Blitz the B-gap and hit whoever had possession."
He briefly played defensive end at Colorado before moving back to linebacker in JUCO. "It wasn't until my first year back at Mt. SAC that I actually learned linebacker technique," he said. "JUCO really taught me how to play the position."
Stuart arrived at Temple with a completely different background. Football started early for him – age four, coached by his dad, surrounded by the same teammates for more than a decade. But even with that foundation, he didn't find a college home right away. "I left high school with no college interest," he said. "I quit football. I took a gap year and was just working."
That working year was long and difficult. "I worked at Tesla building cars 12 hours a day," he said. "It was horrid."
Football only returned to him after a JUCO coach reached out. He played at De Anza, then transferred to Foothill, where new opportunities finally opened. Temple emerged quickly and decisively. "I visited Temple on December 13th, signing day was the 15th," he said. "I went home, said bye to everybody, and I was back here on Monday. Quick turnaround."
Unlike Surprenant's parents, Stuart's family embraced the idea from the start. "My mom and dad fell in love with Temple before I did," he said. "You can feel your parents' energy. They loved it."
His first impression of Philadelphia, though, was memorable. "My first night here, I woke up and there was snow on the ground outside my house," he said. "I'd never seen that before. I was like, oh my God, what did I get myself into?"
Stuart may have spent his entire childhood in football, but his linebacker education didn't start until college either. "There's trainers for every position except linebacker," he said. "Nobody teaches you how to play it. I didn't learn linebacker until JUCO. High school was just 'tackle the person with the ball.'"
Both players talk openly about their long-term goals beyond football, and surprisingly, they're nearly identical. Surprenant plans to pursue firefighting when his playing career ends.
"Firefighting has been my thing since junior year," he said. "A close family member who passed away is the reason why I want to do it." He's already familiar with the different paths available back home. "There's wildlands, forests, hotshots, and then city or county departments," he explained. "A lot of guys where I'm from do 16-hour shifts, live out in the forest, pitch tents. It's real work, and it matters."
Stuart has had the same career in mind. "I've always had a fallback plan," he said. "Fire academy. And I want to coach football. I want to stay around the game." For him, firefighting is a natural transition out of athletics. "When you leave a sport like football, there are certain careers that just fit – servicemen, police, firefighters," he said. "It just makes sense."
Both note the connection between football and firefighting: teamwork, pressure, communication, and they mention that there's another teammate, tight end Jake Woods, who plans to join them. "Where we're from, firefighting is a big career," Surprenant said. "It just fits."
And while they came from different pockets of California, they share the same pride in the state's football culture. "Cali ball is the best ball," Surprenant said.
"California football is the breeding ground," Stuart added.
Their paths didn't overlap before Temple, and they didn't follow the same timeline or the same early football experiences. But both arrived with the same belief: they found the right place to take the next step. And as Temple's linebacker room continues to evolve, the two Californians stand as proof that the program doesn't just add players. It adds stories, ambition, and individuals willing to take the long way around if it gets them exactly where they're meant to be.
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Now, they share the same position of middle linebacker and a similar dream for the future.
For Surprenant, the road to Philadelphia started at Colorado. After a year there, he moved back home and played at Mt. San Antonio College, where his recruitment took off again. "I ended up with seven or eight offers out of JUCO," he said. "This was one of my last visits, right before signing day. It was a last-second thing, and it ended up being the best fit for me."
His decision brought him far from Southern California, where the pace was slower and the winters nonexistent. "First day of school and there's snow on the ground," he laughed. "Not happy about it. And everything out here is fast paced. Back home it's beach-style, laid back. Here, if you're at a stoplight more than a second, you're getting honked at."
His family felt the shift, too. Surprenant remembers the first night he and his dad stayed in a Philadelphia hotel. "It was so noisy compared to what I was used to," he said. "Back home it's quiet. My dad was like, 'Are you sure about this?' My mom was completely against it at first." However, after visits with other programs, his mother's perspective shifted, and she grew confident that he belonged here at Temple. "It ended up working out," he said. "I'm happy here."
Football was never a childhood certainty for Surprenant. He grew up in soccer – his mother was a college coach – and played baseball at a high level into high school. "I never played football until my junior year," he said. "I picked up football because I wanted to lift more weights. That was literally it. Starting out as linebacker, I was just 'see ball, get ball.' Blitz the B-gap and hit whoever had possession."
He briefly played defensive end at Colorado before moving back to linebacker in JUCO. "It wasn't until my first year back at Mt. SAC that I actually learned linebacker technique," he said. "JUCO really taught me how to play the position."
Stuart arrived at Temple with a completely different background. Football started early for him – age four, coached by his dad, surrounded by the same teammates for more than a decade. But even with that foundation, he didn't find a college home right away. "I left high school with no college interest," he said. "I quit football. I took a gap year and was just working."
That working year was long and difficult. "I worked at Tesla building cars 12 hours a day," he said. "It was horrid."
Football only returned to him after a JUCO coach reached out. He played at De Anza, then transferred to Foothill, where new opportunities finally opened. Temple emerged quickly and decisively. "I visited Temple on December 13th, signing day was the 15th," he said. "I went home, said bye to everybody, and I was back here on Monday. Quick turnaround."
Unlike Surprenant's parents, Stuart's family embraced the idea from the start. "My mom and dad fell in love with Temple before I did," he said. "You can feel your parents' energy. They loved it."
His first impression of Philadelphia, though, was memorable. "My first night here, I woke up and there was snow on the ground outside my house," he said. "I'd never seen that before. I was like, oh my God, what did I get myself into?"
Stuart may have spent his entire childhood in football, but his linebacker education didn't start until college either. "There's trainers for every position except linebacker," he said. "Nobody teaches you how to play it. I didn't learn linebacker until JUCO. High school was just 'tackle the person with the ball.'"
Both players talk openly about their long-term goals beyond football, and surprisingly, they're nearly identical. Surprenant plans to pursue firefighting when his playing career ends.
"Firefighting has been my thing since junior year," he said. "A close family member who passed away is the reason why I want to do it." He's already familiar with the different paths available back home. "There's wildlands, forests, hotshots, and then city or county departments," he explained. "A lot of guys where I'm from do 16-hour shifts, live out in the forest, pitch tents. It's real work, and it matters."
Stuart has had the same career in mind. "I've always had a fallback plan," he said. "Fire academy. And I want to coach football. I want to stay around the game." For him, firefighting is a natural transition out of athletics. "When you leave a sport like football, there are certain careers that just fit – servicemen, police, firefighters," he said. "It just makes sense."
Both note the connection between football and firefighting: teamwork, pressure, communication, and they mention that there's another teammate, tight end Jake Woods, who plans to join them. "Where we're from, firefighting is a big career," Surprenant said. "It just fits."
And while they came from different pockets of California, they share the same pride in the state's football culture. "Cali ball is the best ball," Surprenant said.
"California football is the breeding ground," Stuart added.
Their paths didn't overlap before Temple, and they didn't follow the same timeline or the same early football experiences. But both arrived with the same belief: they found the right place to take the next step. And as Temple's linebacker room continues to evolve, the two Californians stand as proof that the program doesn't just add players. It adds stories, ambition, and individuals willing to take the long way around if it gets them exactly where they're meant to be.
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Players Mentioned
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