Jack Stoll has the best hair in college football.
It’s better than Trevor Lawrence’s Sunshine-wannabe locks. It’s better than Mike Gundy’s dad mullet. Penn State’s James Franklin loves it. Stoll has inspired a follicle race within his own locker room; defensive back Reid Karel is growing his mullet but it doesn’t have the flow of Stoll’s. Garrett Nelson’s mullet fits his brand: wild man with minimal grooming.
Stoll’s has its own name. The Stollet. The Twitter account is just begging to be made.
“I’ve heard (the nickname) a few times and I’m not going to complain about it, let’s put it that way,” the junior tight end said with a grin Thursday afternoon when he re-introduced the world to his hair and officially filed an application to make it the eighth wonder.
This is a man who knows the value of conditioner.
“We’ve gained a lot (of volume over the summer),” he said. “It’s curling up so it’s not as long as it should be but she’s getting there.”
Billy Ray Cyrus is the mullet inspiration. Maybe. Stoll isn’t really sure. He’s just growing it to grow it. The journey began in the back of a marketing class when he and Karel started talking about mullets. And the back of his head hasn’t seen a clipper since February of 2018. But what’s the end goal here? A Pantene sponsorship after school? A certain length?
“We’re going to keep growing it until we lose a game,” he said. “Simple as that. Hopefully we’re going undefeated and I can keep this bad boy until January.”
Oh, so The Stollet is going to win Nebraska a National Championship. Cool.
Nebraska didn’t make it into the preseason Amway Coaches Poll Top 25 released Thursday morning. Head coach Scott Frost, who opened Thursday’s pre-fall camp press conference before ceding the floor to his players, said he didn’t put Nebraska in his Top 25 either (he has a vote). But there’s a reason.
“I didn't put us in the Top 25, I hope we are at the end of the year but any progress that we've made is just progress,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen until we go after it.”
Frost said the team just looks different. He walks down the halls, looks at his players, and sees winners. One of the goals of the offseason is to earn the love.
Stoll is one of the guys leading the resurgence. Asked what’s different this year compared to last, he said coaches aren’t having to tell players to do things, players are policing themselves. The Unity Council is back. Stoll has stepped outside his comfort zone and spoken up. (The Stollet has powers.)
“I’ve just been trying to do as much as I can for the team, whatever that means, if I’ve got to get on someone and make sure they’re doing the right thing, that’s fine, I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ve definitely had to be a little more vocal than I’ve been comfortable with in the past. I don’t ever want to be too comfortable, I’d rather be uncomfortable and keep growing as a man, a football player and especially a leader.”
And he wants his hair to keep growing. The man doesn’t want to cut his hair.
"I didn't come here to go 4-8,” Stoll said. “I came here to put a ring on my finger.”
Derek is a newbie on the Hail Varsity staff covering Husker athletics. In college, he was best known as ‘that guy from Twitter.’ He has covered a Sugar Bowl, a tennis national championship and almost everything in between (except an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game… *tears*). In his spare time, he can be found arguing with literally anyone about sports.
