Ethan Loss was awarded All-Pioneer Football League Honorable Mention in 2024. Photo by Drew Kosmak.

OWEN PRISCOTT | STAFF REPORTER | opriscott@butler.edu 

Before he ever dreamed of hauling in passes at the Division I level, redshirt junior wide receiver Ethan Loss spent most of his high school career with a bat in his hands, not a football. Now, Loss has carved out an unconventional path to a breakout season, emerging as one of the Bulldogs’ steadiest offensive threats. 

Loss entered this season as a returning contributor, but few expected the statistical leap that has followed. He currently sits in 12th among FCS national leaders in all-purpose yards with 1,388, and eighth in kickoff return yards with 602 — averaging 28.7 yards per return, good for seventh in FCS.  

After a season where Loss was awarded an All-Pioneer Football League Honorable Mention, the wideout has taken the next step and set career highs across major receiving categories — with 53 receptions and 624 receiving yards — and has added gadget ball-carrier and kick-return dimensions that have given Butler’s offense and special teams a jolt of life time and time again this season.

Teammates and coaches describe him in one word: consistent. This fall, that consistency has turned into production. 

Before all of his explosive plays, Loss chose Butler for reasons that had little to do with stats.

“I loved campus,” Loss said. “There’s a lot to like about Butler — the athletic department, the business school — and they made a big effort to get me here.” 

At a time when the transfer portal is reshaping college football, the redshirt junior wideout said staying put was never difficult. 

“I’ve had a lot of fun playing here with the guys,” Loss said. “Playing with [redshirt junior quarterback] Reagan [Andrew] — he’s the ultimate team player and one of the best players in our league — there’s really nowhere else I’d want to be.”

Andrew, who has lined up with Loss since their first year, explained that the bond between them has shaped both of their careers. 

“We lived across the hall [freshman year] and went to practice every day together — four years of chemistry,” Andrew said. “He’s a quarterback’s best friend. You put the ball anywhere in his vicinity, he’ll go get it.”

Almost every time Andrew has thrown the ball in Loss’ area, he has successfully captured it. Both Andrew and Loss recalled the same play as their favorite of this season. On Oct. 18, in a crucial road battle against Dayton, Andrew found Loss’ outside shoulder on the sideline for 18 yards. But, Loss was not done on the play, shaking his defender and taking it the rest of the way — 67 yards — for a touchdown. 

“That’s just a good example of what he’s capable of, what he’s been doing for us for the past three years, and the player that he is,” Andrew said. 

Loss’ path to being a multi-role offensive weapon did not come naturally — mostly because he did not anticipate playing those roles at all. 

“In high school, I was mainly a baseball player and played football on the side,” Loss said. “Each year here, I’ve tried to add something to my toolbox.”

That toolbox now includes outside receiver, slot receiver, ball carrier and this year, kick returner — despite having never returned kicks in his life.

Head coach Kevin Lynch did not need past experience to trust Loss with the job.

“My experience is if you have a guy who’s tough and can run fast, they make good kick returners,” Lynch said. “If you block it up well and a guy with his speed gets space, great things happen.”

Great things have happened. Loss has two kick-return touchdowns this season — a 90-yard runback against Hanover on Sept. 13, and a 100-yard burst against Morehead State on Nov. 8 — plays that he describes as “right place, right time.”

“[The return against Morehead State] was great blocking,” Loss said. “I really just had to put my foot in the ground and run.”

His offensive versatility is just as valuable. Loss can line up in motion, stretch the defense, work underneath or even function as a decoy — something Lynch said creates big-play opportunities for teammates. 

“You want your best guy in [different] spots,” Lynch said. “Sometimes that’s motion, sometimes that’s a post … and then a guy like him, you want to use as a little bit of a decoy. [There’s been] a couple of long plays I know [redshirt junior wide receiver] Archie [Cox] has had one, [where] it’s been something with [Loss] underneath, and someone trying to cover him, and we throw it over his head.”

However, what Loss brings to the huddle goes beyond the box score. 

“He gives our huddle a real sense of calmness,” Andrew said. “He’s not a huge rah-rah guy, but you know what you’re getting every play. That steadiness calms a lot of our young guys down.”

Lynch echoed the same notion, calling Loss the team’s most consistent practice performer.

“He’s our hardest-working receiver,” Lynch said. “[He practices] how [he plays], so you know exactly where he’s going to be and how he’s doing things. That’s why I think he’s successful.”

When coaches and quarterbacks know exactly who you’ll be every day, that matters. But the biggest challenge, as Lynch put it, is making sure the Bulldogs do not overuse him. 

“You have to be smart and strategic with his reps,” Lynch said. “With the way we play offense, you’re running full speed all the time. We try to take reps off during practice or even during games to try and keep him fresh.”

Loss models his game after Seattle Seahawks and former Los Angeles Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp, another receiver praised for versatility. Loss describes himself similarly. 

“Off the field, I’m a competitor, consistent and steady,” Loss said. “I try not to change who I am, no matter the situation. In high-pressure moments, that helps me.” 

Loss’ evolution into a Swiss Army knife has already shifted Butler’s offensive outlook, but Lynch believes there is room for even more growth. 

“We’re always looking for new ways to use him,” Lynch said. “Throwing it to him, handing it to him on jet sweeps — whatever gives us the best chance to win.”

As for Andrew, his favorite play involving Loss is simple.

“Touchdown,” Andrew said. “Just give him a chance.”

Through three years of game action, Loss has made the most of him and Andrew’s favorite play, finding the end zone 13 times — nine through the air, two on the ground and two more this season on the kick return. 

At the end of the day, whether it is in the slot, in the backfield or lined up to receive the ensuing kickoff, every Saturday, number 19 for Butler is going to make something happen.