Nazir Stackhouse shares story behind social media presence, TikTok stardom
Nazir Stackhouse is not all too different than the majority of college students. He goes to class, he lives his life and when he’s got down time, he scrolls on social media. Only Stackhouse is different because he’s a got the platform of being a College Football player too.
“It first started junior year of high school doing a little bit of all-star game, USA team, the Nike Opening in Texas, it was just something that we thought would be fun to do. I started carrying along with it, and when I saw that more people started to like and view, at the time I wasn’t too big on social media – I was more subtle when it came to posting videos and anything – but over time I started to use it as a side hobby, something to entertain me outside of football,” Stackhouse said. “We go through a lot of things as football players, so I use my social media platform, which is TikTok, to try and get my mind off of academics or how hard practice was that day or whatever. Whenever I get the time during the day, I like to spend it either doing schoolwork or posting a video here and there.”
Stackhouse isn’t the only Georgia player on social media, but he might be the most active in terms of content creation. Ranging from videos on the day in the life of a football player during fall camp to more fun stuff like playing tennis with the women’s tennis team or riding a horse at the equestrian barn, Stackhouse does it all.
“My teammates love it,” Stackhouse said. There’s a handful of us who have TikTok. It’s funny, and most of them will comment on it. They say they love this and that. I’ve even had some teammates who have asked to be featured.”
While everybody loves the content – even Kirby Smart’s son Andrew who follows Stackhouse on TikTok – the coaches do keep an eye on it to make sure he’s staying within the guidelines of Georgia Football. Stackhouse understands that and respects the rules. He also knows where social media comes in terms of a priority.
“They love the content, and they only encourage me to do more of it when I’m doing my best on the field and in the classroom,” Stackhouse said. “So if I’m not doing well with my academics, they aren’t stressing, ‘Oh Naz, you should push out more videos.’ It’s more of, ‘Do you thing with academics and then you’ve got social media.’ So when I’m doing good in those things, social media is something I always go back to.”
“We had a player post something on TikTok and Kirby wasn’t too happy about it. He mentioned it to the team, that kind of came over to me. I don’t post too much stuff that goes on behind closed doors that’s supposed to be confidential to the team. After he stressed that, I was like, ‘Okay, this is what Kirby doesn’t want. I’m going to stay subtle, still have fun with it,'” he added. “If there is any problem, most likely I’ll just ask. Sometimes I wouldn’t even have to ask. My coach, Tray Scott, would just DM on the back end and say, ‘Hey, try to minimize posting things in the locker room’ or this and that. That’s why I’ve got a lot of stuff with Bones. They didn’t mind me posting that, but if I were to get any footage of us in the locker room, that’s more of a violation, a problem and Kirby wants to keep everything private and between the team.”
Stackhouse says he’s got some bigger things planned for his social media presence but wants to put it off until after the season. He has however thought about potentially trying to make a career out of it once his football playing days are over.
“It’s something I enjoy. I enjoy doing it,” Stackhouse said. “Most people do it for the views and the likes and stuff like that. That’s something that comes along with it. But for me, it actually entertains me to watch my videos. It makes me giggle a lot more than it does my teammates.”
“I’ve thought about it many times,” he added. “I try not to be too focused on it because I know I have a lot of stuff going on. Obviously NIL deals, social media, football, school, so I try to narrow down my responsibilities. School, football, TikTok later maybe, an NIL deal later maybe. But yeah, it’s actually something I have thought about maybe somewhere in the future.”
And while Stackhouse is a personality off the field, he’s proving to be a big part of Georgia’s success on it too. So far on the season, Stackhouse has appeared in all five games, totaling six tackles including one for loss. With star defensive lineman Jalen Carter sidelined for the next couple of weeks due to injury, Stackhouse is expected to see an increase in the number of snaps that he’s already receiving. He thinks of himself as a whole different person on the field than the one he portrays on social media.
“I feel like I play with a controlled aggression. I wouldn’t say I play angry because they stress, if you play angry, you play out of control. Me, my aggression is more controlled,” Stackhouse said. “People question that a lot. ‘This guy, he’s a jolly outside of football. How does he lock in to game day mode?’ I ask myself that question sometimes too because when I’m on the field, I’m a whole different person. You wouldn’t really know that from the TV or the stands, but it’s something that I work on doing, especially when you’re playing or you’re striking someone that’s not your teammate on Saturday, there’s more of a, ‘I’m playing for my brothers.’ Whatever happens, I’m always out there trying to play with physicality to my best ability and my potential.”
Stackhouse and the Bulldogs take on Auburn Saturday between the hedges. Kickoff time for the 127th meeting of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
