Stephen Panasuk ( ; born January 19, 1989) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who is currently a free agent.

Early life

Panasuk attended Grafton High School in Virginia for his first three years and played wide receiver. In 2006, he moved back to New Jersey and played his senior season as a quarterback for the

New Egypt High School New Egypt High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school that serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades from Plumsted Township, Ne ...

Warriors in the New Egypt section of Plumsted Township.

College career

La Salle

Panasuk attended

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

upon graduation from high school. He played in eight games as a true freshman in 2007, completing 38 of 96 passes for 373 yards, 3 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Following the 2007 season, La Salle ended its football program and allowed all their players to transfer to other schools to continue playing football.

Wagner

Panasuk chose

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

to continue his football career,

Professional career

Kentucky Drillers

Panasuk began his professional career with the

Kentucky Drillers The Kentucky Drillers were a professional indoor football team based in Pikeville, Kentucky. The franchise started as the Eastern Kentucky Drillers and joined the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2013 after playing their first two sea ...

of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). He started 5 games before leaving for the Wyoming Cavalry.

Wyoming Cavalry

Panasuk quickly left the Drillers to join the Wyoming Cavalry of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

(IFL). Panasuk played in nine games, starting seven, during his rookie year with the Cavalry.

Trenton Freedom

Panasuk returned to New Jersey in 2014 when he joined the

Trenton Freedom The Trenton Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Trenton, New Jersey. The Freedom were a member of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The Freedom began play in 2014 as an expansion member of the PIFL. The Freedom ...

of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). During the 2014 season, Panasuk served as the backup to Warren Smith, who would go on to win the PIFL MVP. In 2015, Panasuk played in 10 games for the Freedom, completing 63% of his passes for over 1,800 yards and 38 total touchdowns.

Wichita Force

Panasuk joined the

Wichita Force The Wichita Force are a professional indoor football team based in Wichita, Kansas, with home games in Wichita Ice Center. The team was founded in 2014 as an expansion franchise in the Champions Indoor Football league for the 2015 season. The Fo ...

of Champions Indoor Football (CIF) in 2016. He led the Force to a 5–2 record, completing 61% of his passes for 1,084 yards and 32 total touchdowns before signing with Cleveland.

Cleveland Gladiators

On April 26, 2016, Panasuk was assigned to the Cleveland Gladiators of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL), where he finished the 2016 season.

High Country Grizzlies

Panasuk signed with the High Country Grizzlies of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season. He played in 8 games for the Grizzlies, completing 131 of 239 passes for 1,318 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also scored four rushing touchdowns.

Jersey Flight

On October 25, 2017, Panasuk signed with the

Jersey Flight The Jersey Flight were a professional indoor football team based in Trenton, New Jersey. The team played its first two seasons in the American Arena League (AAL) and then as a member of the National Arena League (NAL) from 2020 to 2021. They were ...

of the NAL. However, the team failed to meet the league's minimum obligations prior to the release of the 2018 schedule and was subsequently removed from the league without playing a game. A few days later, the Flight announced they had joined the American Arena League (AAL). Panasuk would be voted 2018 AAL QB of the year after leading the team to a 7–3 record. He amassed 2,000 passing yards and accounted for 68 total touchdowns to only 7 interceptions on the year.

West Virginia Roughriders

In May 2019, Panasuk came out of his brief retirement and signed with the West Virginia Roughriders of the AAL prior to the last regular season game. The team went on to win the 2019 AAL Championship. It is his second professional championship. Panasuk saw limited action in relief of former West Virginia University quarterback Jarret Brown. In 1 regular season game and 3 post season games, Panasuk accounted for 362 yards and 7 total touchdowns.

Personal life

Panasuk has been a resident of Jackson Township, New Jersey."Force finish 2016 signings with QB Panasuk, OL McGuire"

, February 17, 2016. Accessed August 3, 2016. "A Jackson, N.J. native, Panasuk attended La Salle University before transferring to Wagner University."

References

External links

Arena Football League bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panasuk, Stephen 1989 births Living people American football quarterbacks La Salle Explorers football players Wagner Seahawks football players Wyoming Cavalry players Trenton Freedom players Wichita Force players Cleveland Gladiators players People from Jackson Township, New Jersey People from Plumsted Township, New Jersey Players of American football from Ocean County, New Jersey Kentucky Drillers players High Country Grizzlies players National Arena League players American Arena League players