Penn State's Chris Stoll wins the Mannelly Award as nation's top long snapper
Penn State long snapper Chris Stoll capped his career in grand fashion on Saturday night by being named the best player at his position in all of college football. The sixth-year senior and team captain was honored with the Patrick Mannelly Award at a ceremony in Lake Bluff, Ill. He bested fellow finalists Alex Ward of UCF and Matt Hembrough of Oklahoma State to win the award.
The Mannelly Award, created in 2019, benefits Bernie’s Book Bank, a non-profit organization located in Lake Bluff. The award is named after Patrick Mannelly, a long snapper at Duke, who played 16 years in the NFL with the Chicago Bears.
Stoll was a Penn State captain in 2022
Stoll has been Penn State’s primary long snapper for the last four seasons and he earned a scholarship from the Nittany Lions in the summer of 2020. He originally joined the program as a walk-on out of St. Francis De Sales High School in Columbus, Ohio, in the Class of 2017. Stoll graduated with a degree in Kinesiology in 2021 and is working on a second degree in health policy and administration. He is a three-time Dean’s List selection and was welcomed back to the program for a sixth season in 2022.
He earned a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team watch list and has been the president of Penn State’s chapter of Uplifting Athletes for the last three seasons.
“So externally maybe doesn’t get talked about a lot; internally in our building, we talk about him all the time,” head coach James Franklin said of Stoll in November. “He addresses the team a lot. We bring up his role. He is Mr. Consistent and has been that way his entire career. He’s gotten better every single year, not only in his consistency as a snapper, but also as a blocker, and his ability to get down the field and make tackles. He’s been awesome. Great student as well. Great spokesperson.”
Stoll is the fourth recipient of the award, joining Notre Dame’s John Shannon (2019), Alabama’s Thomas Fletcher (2020) and Pitt’s Cal Adomitis (2021). He has appeared in 46 games for the Nittany Lions and snapped for Big Ten of the Year and Ray Guy Award finalist Jordan Stout in 2021. He helped Barney Amor to a 43.9-yard average in the 2022 season.
