Husker Walk-on Q-n-A: Jeramiah Stovall

Jeramiah Stovall is a fifth-year senior who earlier this week became the second Nebraska football walk-on this semester to earn a scholarship. A graduate of Creighton Prep High School in Omaha, Stovall has been one of the Huskers' top special teams performers, and last season was named the team's special teams player of the year. The 5-foot-11 cornerback plays on kickoff and punt coverage and entered the season with 12 career tackles, all on special teams. Stovall earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in May and is playing as a graduate student. He visited with Brian Rosenthal for this week's walk-on Q-n-A segment.
 
BR: First of all, congratulations on the scholarship. What was your initial reaction when you found out?
Jeramiah: "Excited. It's just nice to know your hard work paid off, the things that coach has been telling you, 'You do this, this will come' … It's nice to see your hard work really does get recognized."
 
BR: You made the team through a walk-on tryout your second semester on campus. Did you enroll at Nebraska with that in mind?
Jeramiah: "It's something I always thought about, the path I was going to go. I kind of just put it in my mind that I was going to make the tryout. I prepared for it."
 
BR: Did you bypass opportunities to play elsewhere?
Jeramiah: "A couple of small schools. Iowa Western talked to me about getting me over there. I was talking with my parents about it. Me and my dad are very close, and he didn't think that would be my best option. So I told him, 'Why don't I just walk-on?' and he liked that idea. And my brother actually played here, so it just made sense to me that I at least try."
 
BR: You've been a special teams mainstay through most of your career. What pride do you take in that, and why?
Jeramiah: "I love football. Simple as that. As soon as I touch the field, I'm just happy to play. I make that my biggest goal. I want to make sure my name is called in the stadium. It's not something everybody talks about, but you do hear it, and it honestly pumps me up. If my name's not called, I'm not doing something, and I need to work harder. It doesn't matter who's in front of me, it doesn't matter what happened. If I'm not on defense, so what? You got to make a play somewhere, make a play on special teams. That's a big part of the game right there."
 
BR: So hearing your name called over the public address system after you've made a tackle inspires you that much?
Jeramiah: "It does. It proves I'm here, doing something."


 
BR: What's been your most memorable special teams moment?
Jeramiah: "For sure last year against Illinois when I got the fumble recovery (pictured above). It just shows you when you're running hard and you're going hard on every play, and you're just doing what you supposed to do – the ball just really fell in my lap, and it made me think like, 'You do that every time, good things are going to happen. The ball is going to fall your way.' It really happens."
 
BR: Did you approach your duties on scout team in the same manner?
Jeramiah: "Yes, exactly. You don't think scout team is going to be a big deal, but when you do it, if you go to the game and you see how their corner actually does play, and you play it how it is, it really does give a better look for the offense. You go hard, you try to fight off a block, it makes the receiver better at blocking. And honestly, it's still working on your game. It's not like you're not getting better from it. I want to be the best I can be at the end of the day, and I'm going to go hard on scout team, or whatever I've got to do. It's going to make the guy in front of me a better player, and it's going to make the team better."
 
BR: What's the most enjoyable part about being a walk-on?
Jeramiah: "I like the fact that when you do do something, it's like, 'Who's that?' or 'Where's he from?' I love that aspect of it. It kind of drives me. Every day we got to make sure someone new is known."
 
BR: How do you feel about the newcomer walk-ons, and what advice would you give them?
Jeramiah: "I actually love what they're doing so far. They're really passionate about what they're doing, and it makes me see they know what it takes. I would say every day you can't take for granted. You never know when you could pop a knee. It can happen just like that."
 
BR: You've graduated. What are you studying for graduate courses?
Jeramiah: "Nothing too strenuous I figured I would like to take a semester to focus more on the game – and I would like to get my Master's – I just thought for right now I would like to see what it's like playing football by itself. You have to take 9 hours. I have intro to family finance, coaching basketball, a CPR class. I have a cooking class coming up I haven't even started yet."
 
BR: What the biggest piece of advice you have taken from Coach Frost?
Jeramiah: "That every little thing matters. I know when I first got here, I honestly didn't see it. I didn't think going to a 9 a.m. breakfast was that that important to me. … It's not just football. It ties into literally everything you do. Take out the trash the right way. It's little details that matter and are going to go into the game. Honestly, when I started to realize that, it cleans up your game."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.