Nazir Stackhouse interception a "dream come true"
ATHENS, Ga. — Leading 27-21 in the fourth quarter with Missouri at midfield, Georgia’s defense was looking for a big play. Enter defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse as the 6-foot-3, 320-pound big man out of Stone Mountain, Ga. came down with the first interception of his football career and just started running.
“It’s unreal. I was making sure he didn’t pump fake me, I wanted to bat the ball and then he threw it right in my hands,” Stackhouse recalled. “It’s a dream come true for a defensive lineman … I’m glad he didn’t throw the ball at full speed because it probably would have bounced off my chest. Because it was more of a fly ball, it was easier to catch, so I embraced it and tried to get as much yardage as I could.”
Stackhouse said the last time he had the ball in his hands was during the region championship game his senior year of high school. He played full back at the time and scored a touchdown in that game. This one, he wasn’t quite as fortunate.
“My legs started getting really heavy. It was exciting for the first couple of seconds, and then when you’re on that stride, your body starts saying, ‘I don’t think you’re going to get there,'” Stackhouse said with a smile on his face.
Chased down from behind, Stackhouse assessed his speed as “about a 70” if the new NCAA Football came was out. He said he hit 18 miles an hour on the run, but Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had other opinions.
“No chance. I think the only thing he could hit 18 miles an hour on is his bike or a car,” Smart said.
“Huge. Biggest play of the game. It was slow motion. We told him after the game he had to get his piano off his back,” Smart added. “He said he took off and he just knew he was going to score, and he didn’t realize how far he had to run. He was out of breath about halfway. I thought Jalon Walker did a great job — just a great example of having discipline to not block somebody or clip somebody in the back. I thought he did a great job there.”
Stackhouse’s 44-yard return to the Missouri 5 was called back for an illegal chop block on Smael Mondon. Still, it resulted in points for Georgia, putting the Bulldogs up two scores with less than 4:00 to go.
Stackhouse said the play was huge for him, not only because of the significance towards helping the team securing a win, but also his legacy in Athens.
“It’s so unreal right now, it’s hard to explain with words,” Stackhouse said. “It’s just so exciting. I can look back on my time here at the University of Georgia and say I did that here if it never happens again.”
