Gardner Minshew is just oozing swag, which has endeared him to NFL fans — especially those in Jacksonville. Beyond wearing amazing outfits, he has a beautiful, old school mustache that he sports.
The mustache was a hit in college at Washington State, where fans and broadcasters were sporting fake mustaches at Cougars games.
So how did that incredible facial hair come about? Minshew shared the story during an interview after leading his Jaguars to a 20-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.
“It was kind of a silly thing we started in camp at Washington State, and everybody quit on me. So I was like, ‘screw you all, I’m doing this longer than everybody.’ And here we are!” Minshew said.
Minshew’s mustache has drawn media attention going back to last year.
“I think it’s symbolic of how we are as a team: just free, loose, we’re going to play as hard as we can and have fun doing it,” Minshew said of his mustache during an interview with ESPN last year.
It turns out the mustache in camp was not new for Minshew. He also did the same thing before his second season at East Carolina.
Minshew’s journey to the NFL is a rare one. He began his college career at Troy, where he started on an academic scholarship. He left there for Northwest Mississippi Community College, where he spent a season and went 11-1. He then moved to East Carolina for two years and passed for 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 17 games. Then he moved to Washington State as a transfer last year and passed for 4,779 yards in Mike Leach’s offense. Just think: had he never caught on with Leach, he probably never would be where he is now.
We are all thankful for his presence in the NFL, and his mustache.
