A legendary LSU football player from West Monroe has passed away.
Former All-American Jerry Stovall, who finished second in the 1962 Heisman Trophy balloting, has died at the age of 85.
Stovall’s nickname was “Mr. Everything” because he played four different positions at LSU from 1960 to 1962.
In an interview with KNOE-TV in 2009, Stovall said he was able to excel on the football field even though he was not the best athlete.
“You have never heard anybody talk about my size, my speed and my strength, and I think a lot of that was, in fact, because I didn’t have a lot of either one of those,” Stovall said.
At six-foot-two, 195 pounds, Stovall was a two-time All-SEC selection and rushed for more than 1,000 yards and had nearly 500 receiving yards in his career. Stovall also held the LSU record for highest punting average for a season, at 42 yards a punt. Stovall also had nearly 700 return yards on special teams and seven interceptions.
He was selected in the first round of the 1963 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals; Stovall played nine years in the NFL and was named an All-Pro twice. In a 2009 interview with KNOE-TV, Stovall credited his upbringing for his success.
“I think one of the things that I brought to table, maybe my biggest asset, was the fact that I was raised by a family who taught me hard work,” Stovall noted.
Stovall returned to LSU to serve as the Tigers head coach from 1980 to 1983 following the death of Bo Rein. His best season was in 1982 when the Tigers went 8-3-1 and made the Orange Bowl.
Stovall was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and told KNOE-TV that he never thought such an accomplishment was possible.
“There was none of this planned by me. There was none of it that was orchestrated, and none of it anticipated. It’s nothing but just a young man that was given a chance, and helped along by an awful lot of people,” Stovall explained.
Stovall also was Louisiana Tech’s athletic director from 1990 to 1993. He also served as President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation and severed as board of directors for the Louisiana Senior Games.
