Longtime Stanford Cardinal Earns Special Teams MVP

Anson Pulsipher helped elevate Stanford's special teams this season

Nov 4, 2023; Pullman, Washington, USA; Stanford Cardinal helmet sits against the Washington State Cougars in the first half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

Losing to Notre Dame 49-20 last week, the Stanford Cardinal ended their 2025 season with another loss to cap off a 4-8 season. While the record was certainly not what Stanford hoped for this season, a lot of good came out of the 2025 campaign, with the Cardinal improving in a lot of ways ahead of what will be a pivotal offseason.

Highlighted by the recent hire of new head coach Tavita Pritchard, a new era of Cardinal football is officially here.

But before Stanford can officially look ahead to the future, recognition for an eventful and important 2025 season is in order. Now that the final game has been played, postseason awards for the Cardinal are starting to roll out and some key Cardinal stars are earning much deserved recognition.

Earlier in the week, it was revealed that senior Anson Pulsipher was the recipient of this season's Jim Reynolds Special Teams MVP award.

Pulsipher, a former standout linebacker at Temecula Valley High School, joined the Cardinal ahead of the 2020 season but left for a two year mission with the LDS church in Chile, missing the '21 and '22 campaigns. Returning as a sophomore in 2023, Pulsipher did not play in a game but earned Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll recognition for his dominance in the classroom.

But starting in 2024, Pulsipher started to become more of an every game fixture for the Cardinal's special teams unit, known for his aggression and tackling ability. In 2025, despite only making six total tackles on defense, Pulsipher was a starter on special teams and helped elevate that unit for Stanford into a very elite group.

An often overlooked unit, special teams can actually be very important for any team, with a good special teams unit not only giving the offense good starting field position, but keeping the opponent from starting their drives with good field position.

Fast and aggressive, Pulsipher's play style was a big reason why Stanford's opponents found themselves needing to work extra hard on offense to move the ball.

Out of eligibility, Pulsipher's career with Stanford is done but he will be remembered very fondly. A part of plenty of moments for Stanford and one of the longest tenured players, Pulsipher played at Stanford under head coach David Shaw, and was one of the holdovers from the switch between Shaw and former head coach, Troy Taylor.

Unlikely to garner enough NFL interest, Pulsipher's football career ends on a high note with this award.

Stanford can use Pulsipher as a blueprint for how it recruits going forward. While the program will certainly focus on adding players to fill positions of need, adding players who can be elite contributors on special teams can go a long way. This could even lead to potentially allowing Stanford to be elite in all three phases and win some games in different ways.

Regardless of how the Cardinal recruit, one thing is for sure: everyone in the program will work tirelessly to bring Stanford football back to the top.