LARAMIE – Tedder Easton's parents were the big recruits.
 
During his senior year of high school in Columbia, Mo., Easton's father, Stephen, accepted a job as the dean of the Wyoming Law School. His mother, Marivern, would later work on the academic side of campus in the College of Health Sciences.
 
Easton – who is now UW's assistant director of student-athlete well-being – was planning to play NAIA football at Central Methodist University after a standout career at Rock Bridge High School.
 
A couple weeks after Stephen started packing, UW Athletics Director Tom Buman hired Dave Christensen, who had just won the Broyles Award given to the nation's top assistant for his work as Missouri's offensive coordinator, as the Cowboys' head coach.
 
"That's a funny story," Easton said of how he would then land a roster spot on Christensen's new team and make the move with his family from Columbia to Laramie.
 
Easton's younger brother, Nathaniel, was watching a baseball game between Rock Bridge and crosstown rival Hickman High while wearing a UW shirt Stephen had brought back from his interview at UW.
 
Christensen's wife, Susie, was also at the game watching her son, D.J., play.
 
"As my brother was leaving the game, Susie chased him down in the parking lot and asked him about me and what my football plans were," Easton said. "There were no D-I schools really calling my phone or talking to me at the high school or anything like that. I thought it was a little brother being a little brother."
 
Nathaniel wasn't playing a prank on his big brother. The opportunity for Easton to join the Cowboys as a preferred walk-on turned out to be real.
 
After redshirting in 2009 and not seeing any action in 2010 or 2011, Easton finally played limited snaps during the 2012 season.
 
"Of course I wanted to play, but I was also a preferred walk-on and was a 245-pound running back in a spread offense," Easton said. "That window was pretty small for me, so I was just going to be a team guy, have fun on scout team and do all these different things. But I will say being on scout team and playing against the defense we had my first couple years helped me build confidence and develop into a Division I style running back."
 
During Easton's freshman year, the Pokes' defense included future NFL players Mitch Unrein, Mike Purcell, Chris Prosinski and Tashaun Gipson.
 
Brett Smith passed for 3,375 yards and 29 touchdowns and Shaun Wick rushed for 979 yards during Easton's senior season in which he added 311 yards (6.9 yards per carry) and five touchdowns off the bench.
 
"Honestly, I think my favorite part is it just felt like everything was solidified," Easton said of making an impact on the field in 2013. "If I had graduated and had never played, I would have been OK with that. But coming to a Division I (program), earning a scholarship, I think that was a dream in itself. Getting out there and playing was kind of a proving myself right type of thing. Doing it with all my friends I stuck around for was a big thing."
 
Easton knew he wanted to work in sports after graduation. He tried coaching at Black Hills State and then fundraising as a Cowboy Joe Club intern, but neither opportunity felt like the right fit.
 
While working with at-risk youth at the Cathedral Home in Laramie he had an epiphany about his career path.
 
"That's kind of where it clicked for me," Easton said. "Being able to sit down and learn about somebody's story, learn about how the past makes them who they are now, I thought, 'How can I take this and apply it to the world of sport?'"
 
Easton went back to school and earned a Masters in Mental Health Counseling from UW in 2021 and became a licensed professional counselor.
 
"I saw teammates struggle with mental health in different capacities," Easton said. "I probably had some anxiety as an athlete myself. I wish I had known there was a counseling center in general on campus or that we would have had stuff in house."
 
Easton worked at The Counseling Center at UW before joining the athletic department to work alongside Rachel Amity, the interim director of student-athlete well-being, in overseeing the wellness, mental health and mental performance needs of the Cowboys and Cowgirls student-athletes.
 
"From personal experience I would say it felt stigmatized back then," Easton said when asked how far UW has come in helping student-athletes deal with mental health issues since his playing days. "I don't think that was on purpose, I don't think that was one of those things where coaches or support staff were telling us not to (seek counseling). I think it was because we didn't have the resources. Without resources it builds a huge barrier. That mixed with late 2000's, early 2010's there was still a little bit of that stigma of, 'Tough it up, figure it out, brush it off.'
 
"Now in the whole world of sport you're seeing it unfolding with an umbrella over it and athletes more willing to be vulnerable."
 
Easton and Amity "see the full spectrum" of mental health issues among the student-athletes they work with.
 
"I would say the overall arching theme is anxiety and depression in any kind of facet. There are those that have higher levels and those that are experiencing it through maybe what's going on in their life in that moment," Easton said. "Then you get the social aspect of it, too. The group that I like to work with are the ones working through the identity piece."
 
Easton noted that walk-ons during his era didn't have the same access to the football team's academic tutoring and training table as the scholarship players. He made other friends studying at Coe Library or over a bite to eat in the Student Union.
 
"I got to be somebody outside of sport," Easton said. "So, when I have athletes come in trying to figure out who they are outside of sport, those are kind of my favorites."
 
Easton and Amity attend as many practices and are in the weight room and training room as much as possible to be visible.
 
"A face is more than just a name," Easton said. "I think if athletes see who we are and that we're not scary, it opens the door even wider for them to come in and see us. … A week or two later you see a completely different person. The biggest thing that we try to do is give our athletes the skills to navigate everyday life, which is awesome."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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