On top of all the requirements for collegiate student-athletes, Marist football star tight end Connor Hulstein balances plenty more in his graduate season. Hulstein flies planes to prepare for his goal of becoming a pilot, in addition to balancing a home life with his wife and son, all while pursuing a master’s degree and serving as a top receiving target for head coach Mike Willis’ program.
Hulstein’s story begins in Frisco, Texas, with the atmosphere everyone pictures when they think of Texas football: intense school pride and playing at big facilities, including The Star (practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys) and Toyota Stadium (home to FC Dallas soccer). After finishing this season in Poughkeepsie, he plans to take his family back down to Texas.
When his football career ends, Hulstein wants to pursue aviation. Over the past summer, he obtained his pilot’s license in hopes of flying either commercially or privately in his future. During his childhood, he sat in the co-pilot seat of a small plane and loved the experience.
“I think it’s a crazy feeling when the plane lifts off the ground, and it’s just you in the air with that little plane. I enjoy adventuring, exploring and seeing new places. What better way to see them [than] in the air and doing it?” said Hulstein.
Hulstein’s collegiate football career began at Princeton University, where Willis served as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
“It was hard for me to pass up the number one school in the nation knocking on my door [giving] me an opportunity to play football. That was a unique opportunity that not a lot of people get to do,” said Hulstein.
Willis played a major role in Hulstein’s recruitment, finding him first out of the Princeton staff. Hulstein popped up on his social media, and he liked the film and contacted the Texas recruiter, Mike Weick.
The staff remained extremely interested in Hulstein due to his football talent, academic abilities and personality. His lean frame, however, forced him to gain weight before college. Hulstein realized this and further proved that the coaching staff made the right decision.
“During the COVID-19 shutdown, he had built a squat rack in his living room so that he could work out. That, combined with all the other strong feelings I had about him, made me very interested,” said Willis.
In addition to his 6-foot-6 height, Willis valued Hulstein’s length, lateral agility, extreme explosiveness, speed and overall had a good gut feeling about him.
“He can headbutt a basketball rim. He can broad-jump over 10 feet. All of those things don’t make you automatically good at football, but they do signal that you have some raw talent that can be,” said Willis.
Despite liking Hulstein, the coaching staff faced complications in the recruitment process. Hulstein received Power Four (P4) and Group of Five (G5) offers, forcing competition on behalf of the Tigers to successfully recruit the tight end.
“We competed ferociously for his recruitment,” said Willis.
Princeton, along with many other collegiate football programs, did not hold a season due to the pandemic, forcing an NCAA dead period.
“We recruited Connor entirely through a computer screen … The first time I met him in person was when he came to college because you couldn’t meet people who were new during COVID,” said Willis.
Despite unforeseen circumstances, Willis and the Princeton staff successfully recruited Hulstein with a pitch that included previous Ivy League players who had gone on to achieve professional success. In Willis’s eyes, the academics secured the commitment, but Hulstein credits a large portion of his decision to Willis himself.
“He was a big reason [why] I went to Princeton,” said Hulstein.
Most notably at Princeton, Hulstein married his wife and had his first child, Jasper. Before Hulstein’s senior season, Willis took the head coaching role at Marist, but that did not change the two’s special relationship. The Hulsteins expected their son on March 1st, 2025, a special day for the Willis family too.
“He called me right as Marist’s season was beginning to kick off to let me know that he and his wife were expecting their son, Jasper, and my wife was pregnant at the same time with our second. For a brief moment, my second child and Connor’s first child had the exact same due date,” said Willis.
The families did not share a common birthday in the end, as Willis’ daughter was born earlier. However, Willis and Hulstein shared something else: Marist. Two days after Hulstein concluded his senior season, he announced his entry into the transfer portal for one final season of collegiate football.
Hulstein talked to a few coaches at smaller schools, but the relationship he built with Willis, paired with a similar pitch to the first recruitment, sealed the deal.
“I want to play as much football as I can and … of course, what better place to do it than with the coach that recruited me to the school I got to go to before?” said Hulstein.
Hulstein offered plenty that interested Willis in a reunion, including the similarities in systems between Marist and Princeton that eased the change. Hulstein grew his all-around game development and continued to display very good hands, intelligence and speed.
Hulstein once more grew in the weight room: entering 2024 with Princeton, he measured 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. Entering this season with the Red Foxes, he grew an inch and gained 12 pounds, making for a bigger and stronger athlete.
Marist’s scheme allowed him to improve his strengths with a focus on what he excels at. One of those strengths, the biggest one Willis noted since the reunion, is his blocking technique.
“He’s been terrific on the perimeter. He’s been terrific in the core. He’s also one of the best pass protectors on our team. He’s an important part of not just throwing the ball but of allowing other people to catch the ball as a pass protector,” said Willis.
The Tiger turned Red Fox credits the entire coaching staff with supporting his situation, making his decision a no-brainer. They tend to his family situations, like picking up his wife from the airport during camp.
“Getting the opportunity to play with him again is awesome,” said Hulstein of Willis.
Now in Poughkeepsie, Hulstein’s goals are simple: win the game ahead and, in the long run, win the Pioneer Football League.
“I want to be a part of the team that gets Marist a winning record and exemplifies the culture that the coaches are instilling in us to build,” said Hulstein.
Thus far, the tight end continues to achieve these goals. The Red Foxes defeated two scholarship programs for the first time in program history, won two non-conference games in a season for the first time since 2009 and began 3-2 for the first time since 2021.
Hulstein’s statistics also reflect an extremely positive change. With Marist, Hulstein tallied more targets, receptions, receiving yards in his first five games compared to his 25 with the Tigers.
Willis notes tremendous improvements this season in his tight end because he fights through adversity, does every job asked of him, picked up a new offense in a short amount of time, perseveres and displays grit.
Hulstein believes Marist in particular helps his family situation greatly: flexible graduate classes and a family-friendly practice schedule where the players finish with football by breakfast time.
When Hulstein cannot be home, he is extremely thankful for all that his wife does. Overall, he loves the experience of having a family in college, especially with the joys his son and wife bring to him.
“I love getting home from practice and seeing my son. He sees me, and he smiles … It’s a special time in our life that we’ll never have something like this again and to have it with the family, it’s amazing,” said Hulstein.
“Being able to go up after the game and give my wife a hug and give my son a little hug [is] awesome … I’m glad I had kids young,” said Hulstein.
Through their first six games, Hulstein leads Marist in receiving yards (253), receiving touchdowns (4) and is second in receptions (19). He plans to finish out the season strong and train for NFL Pro Day, looking to make it to the league.
Regardless of what lies in Hulstein’s future, Willis remains positive about his star tight end with a family, dream to play in the NFL and aspirations to fly around the world.
Edited by August Lieberman
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo via Marist Athletics
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