It’s never too late to try something new.

Butler graduates Nick Stazer and Ethan Trettel are testaments to that. And Slippery Rock University’s football program hopes to reap the benefits.

Stazer did not come out for the Butler High School football team until his senior season. He wound up starting for the Golden Tornado and tried walking on at the University of Pittsburgh. He had hopes of joining Butler graduate Jake Kradel along the Panthers’ offensive line.

When that didn’t work out, Stazer transferred to The Rock, continued to mature as a player and is now a starter for the perennial PSAC and NCAA Division II playoff contender.

Trettel planned on playing football in the Butler Area Midget Football League program as a youngster. But before entering fourth grade — and playing his first year of football — he required hernia surgery and missed that season. He never came back to the game.

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