NFL DraftProspect Interviews

2023 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Chris Stoll, LS, Penn State University

Chris Stoll the standout long snapper from Penn State University recently sat down with NFL Draft Diamonds owner Damond Talbot.

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2023 NFL Draft? 

  • I believe what makes me the top long snapper in the 2023 NFL Draft is my consistency and my experience. Being a starter at Penn State for four years has allowed me to play in big-time football games with lots of pressure situations. I am confident in saying that I did my job to help my punters and kickers throughout my time at Penn State do their jobs effectively. My consistency with snap location for both punt snaps and field goal snaps has helped our special team units operate to the best of their abilities. 

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

  • I have always had an interest in the sport of football for as long as I can remember. Growing up watching football games on the TV with my family or playing Madden for hours on end in my room, I thoroughly had an interest in the sport of football. I really loved to adjust rosters for the upcoming draft class, playing out different scenarios in Madden on what would happen if this player got drafted by this team, and how the season would play out.  My freshman year of High School was the first time I was able to play football and I could not have been more excited to play. Being a hockey player for most of my younger life, it took up most of the seasons to play competitively. Once I decided to stop pursuing a hockey career, I shifted my focus to football. 

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

  • I truly believe in being the same person every single day. Always come into work or practice with a positive attitude knowing that I will be consistent with my approach to the day, whether that be practice, film work, or workouts in the weight room. Doing whatever I can to help the punter and kicker do their jobs successfully is my number one priority. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

  • Uplifting Athletes is an organization that I have been involved with over the last five years at Penn State. Its mission is to raise awareness and resources for the Rare Disease Community. I know personally how a rare disease can affect an individual and their family members. If the money I donate could help an individual with a rare disease, then maybe I can help save someone from the pain that my grandfather went through. 

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

  • E + R = O. Even + Response = Outcome. My father taught me this when I was in middle school. The only thing that I personally can control in any situation is how I respond to it. Whether that be in relationships, on the football field, in the workplace, or classroom. 

Who was your childhood hero? 

  • My dad is my childhood hero. He has made me the man that I am today. The way that he has treated my mother, how he provided for my family, and his relationship with Jesus Christ are a few of the many things why he is my hero.

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school? 

  • Cody Romano is in my opinion one of the best teammates on my team. He is a walk-on linebacker, but you would never know it. He plays on the scout team every day, has given me great looks on the punt unit, and he always does it with a smile on his face. He also does the little things that not many people like to do, for example after practice I tend to see him picking up trash left on the floor and being in the meeting room early. 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

  • My biggest pet peeve is not being respectful to those in the service industry, whether that be waiters and waitresses at a restaurant, janitors in the building, or an Uber driver. If someone is blatantly disrespectful to those people, it really shows how selfish they are. 

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? 

  • My freshman year at Penn State was a tough one. I think all freshmen get a little homesick, don’t like where they are on the depth chart, and can have a hard time adjusting to college. Now I had a very blessed life, with two loving parents at home, private schools, and travel sports. The biggest adversity came when I didn’t take care of myself. I gained a lot of weight during my freshman summer, didn’t surround myself with positive influences, and I didn’t put in the work that was necessary to compete for the starting position. I was dead last on the depth chart, having to do 5 am workouts because I was overweight, and I was doing unhealthy diet tricks in order to try and make weight. Overcoming that took about a year, realizing that it was all my fault and that I was putting myself in a position to fail was hard to accept but it allowed me to turn the page on that chapter in my life. I started to clean up my diet, do a couple of extra workouts a week, worked with my snapping coach more, and I was able to gain the confidence I needed to start. 

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

  • One of the coolest things about my school, specifically within my degree in Kinesiology, is the Anatomy 202 class. This is where we were able to dissect cadavers. As I am a visual learner, this greatly helped me not only learn in the class, but it created a clear picture of what I wanted to do after football. The professor was outstanding in helping us learn the material, but also gave us real-world scenarios that could help with certain injuries. This is where I decided I wanted to be a chiropractor after my football career is over. 

What is your favorite snack food? 

  • My go-to snack food is cheddar blasted goldfish. 

What is the best part of football? 

  • The best part of football is the locker room. Being able to interact with people from different backgrounds, different races, and different ages allows for a lot of growth and maturity. It allows players to have a brotherhood and family with people they may not have ever interacted with if they did not play the great sport of football. After wins, the locker room can be a place of celebration and triumph, while after a loss it can be a place for adversity and conflict, which allows us to grow as men when we resolve those conflicts. 

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say? 

  • I am a four-year starter at a Big Ten school that has snapped at the highest level with consistency, speed, and accuracy.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be? 

  • Rick Lovato of the Philidelphia Eagles. 

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

  • The three people would be Peyton Manning, Jim Carey, and Tiger Woods. Peyton because he was my favorite player growing up to watch, and I have worn number 18 in the past because of him. Jim Carey is my favorite actor and I feel he would bring a lot of juice and jokes to keep the dinner interesting. Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time and to be able to pick his brain not only about golf but about how he continued to win over a long period of time with outside distractions. 

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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