Sex, Lives & Football (Players): Minshew Making Mustaches Great Again

By Joanne Kong

Twitter: @kongfu4u

He’s not as flashy as Baker Mayfield, and he’s not a troublemaker like Jameis Winston. He’s your friendly neighborhood guy next door, who missed the heyday of the 70’s porn star stache era, but to his family, Gardner is just living in the moment.

“He’s just being himself,” said Meredith, Gardner’s younger sister. “When he runs around on the field, or when he sprints to the crowd after the game, you can just tell he’s having the time of his life. He’s never lost his personality through the whole process.

“He’s never changed who he is. He’s still goofy,” said Flint, Gardner’s Father.

This is an unfortunate story (for the starting quarterback), but one that’s old as time in the NFL. Players get injured, and the back-up takes their place. Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, started the same way. And now, Gardner Minshew ll may potentially be the future for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nick Foles, who had been a back-up quarterback his entire career and brought the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl 52 victory after starter Carson Wentz got injured, is now the starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars…at least he was before getting injured during the first game of the 2019 season against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In stepped Gardner Minshew II.  Don’t know who he is?  Well, let me help!

Name: Gardner Flint Minshew ll

Age: May 16, 1996 (23)

Nickname: Mississippi Mustache

Hometown: Brandon, Mississippi

College: Washington State University

Position: Quarterback

Team: Jacksonville Jaguars

Draft Year: 2019

NFL Draft Pick: Round 6; Pick 178

Height: 6 ft. 1 in.

Weight: 220 lbs.

Twitter: @GardnerMinshew5

Instagram: @gardnerminshew5

Minshew’s Family

Father: Gardner Flint Minshew, but goes by Flint.

Flint Minshew was not only Gardner’s former Peewee coach, but a football player himself. Flint Minshew played football at Millsaps College and was named to their Athletic Hall of Fame.

  • At defensive tackle, recorded 289 career total tackles for 5th all time and 179 career solo tackles for 4th All-Time
  • First Team All-SCAC for 1991 season (senior year) and all CAC honorable mention for 1989 and 1990 seasons
  • Named to the Mississippi Sports Writers Association “Dream Team”, 3rd Team in 1991
  • 2nd all time in career ranking for quarterback sacks with 21.5 sacks
  • James Ray Hood Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award winner in 1991
  • Member of 1st SCAC football championship team in 1991 season with 7-2 record

Mother: Kimberly Minshew, but goes by Kim.

Kim Minshew was a former Mississippi State basketball player, and taught Minshew how to hit a lay-up at the age of seven. Currently, Kim works as a Manager of Human Resources at Mississippi State University.

Siblings: Meredith and Catherine Grace Minshew (Callie)

Both siblings attend Mississippi State University.

Callie Minshew is the youngest sibling and an accomplished athlete herself.

Callie is on the MSU Volleyball Team and was Mississippi’s 2017-18 Gatorade State Volleyball Player of the Year in high school.

Minshew’s Academic Career to the NFL

There isn’t only one path to the NFL.

Minshew played for Brandon High School in Mississippi. Graduating high school early in December 2014, Minshew attended Troy on an academic scholarship for one semester before transferring to Northwest Mississippi Community College, where he lead the team to the NJCAA National Football Championship. In 2016, Minshew transferred to East Carolina University where he split his time on the field with Duke transfer, Thomas Sirk. After graduating from East Carolina, Minshew went into a graduate program at Washington State University.

Can You Identify the Real Gardner Minshew ll?

Okay, so the other two are White Goodman (Ben Stiller from Dodgeball) and Uncle Rico (Jon Gries from Napoleon Dynamite).  What they have in common is the mustachio look of a 70’s porn star that clearly is characteristic of high end athletes around the world.  And they all like headbands.

Minshew Wanted To Be a Football Coach…And Still Does.

Although Minshew loves to play the sport, his goal wasn’t to play football, it was to coach football, which he stated was his endgame.

Following the career of Mike Leach, the Washington State Coach, since middle school, Minshew not only knew who Mike Leach was when he called, but had read Leach’s book (Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life) in the 8th grade.  And before Coach Leach called, he already started the path of coaching:

  • Minshew was a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy.
  • After East Carolina, Minshew committed to Alabama because he believed a year with the Tide would help him get into coaching.  According to Minshew, Nick Saban had promised he would eventually hire him as a graduate assistant.

But for Minshew, Washington State had given him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

  • Minshew played for Washington State as a graduate student for one year, bringing the Cougars to an 11-win season for the first time. He threw for 4,779 yards and a 70.7 percent passing completion.
  • Minshew went on to win the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
  • In 2019, Minshew went to the combine.

  • Minshew was drafted in the sixth-round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. And the rest is soon to be history.

Minshew was a Heisman Candidate.

Minshew was far from winning the Heisman, but he did finish 5th in the voting, which is no small feat.

Final 2018 Heisman Standings

(1) Kyler Murray (Oklahoma – 2,167 points)

(2) Tua Tagovailoa (Alambama – 1,871 points)

(3) Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State – 783 points)

(4) Will Grier (West Virginia – 126 points)

Minshew finished with 122 points.

Minshew’s Mustache: At One Time It Was All the Rage…Maybe It Will Be Again.

Minshew was known for rockin’ a serious mustache during college years, and it’s apparently followed him to the NFL. A signature look for the rookie starter, Minshew’s mustache was once all the rage.  Just ask everyone in Pullman, Washington.

Minshew’s Love Life.

You’re in luck ladies. Gardner Minshew isn’t seeing anyone serious enough to make the news. This can only mean that he’s probably an eligible bachelor. There’s a whole new reason to become a Jaguars fan, or at least to attend the games…in hopes to meet Gardner Minshew and maybe get a date.

Minshew’s Talents…According to Gardner Minshew.

  • Bar-B-Que Skills
  • Pool Volleyball Player Skills
  • Pin-Pong Skills
  • Basketball Skills
  • Nunchaku, Bow Hunting and Computer Hacking Skills … just kidding, that’s just a list skills that Napoleon Dynamite doesn’t have.  He’s just good at drawing animals and warriors and stuff.

Minshew’s Contract With the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Minshew signed a 4-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars for $2,710,884. With a $190,884 signing bonus and $190,884 guaranteed, Minshew will make an average annual salary of $677,721.

Alright, now get ready to root for the Mississippi Mustache and those Jaguars!

tagged with ,