Jordan Hamm
There’s a word that comes up from Arizona State coaches when they talk about senior wide receiver Melquan Stovall: consistent.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him not be the exact same person every single day,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Every day, you know what you’re going to get from Stovall. It’s simple: consistency wins, and he’s been consistent.”
It’s why he was named to the Pat Tillman Leadership Council ahead of the season.
It’s why he has a near-4.0 GPA and working on his second Master’s Degree.
It’s why on 4th and 1 on the Sun Devils’ 34-yard line in the Big 12 Championship, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo called a deep pass to Stovall, which fueled the wide receiver’s team-leading 91 yards that day.
Melquan Stovall : 4 catches for 91 yards on 5 targets (Season-highs in catches, receiving yards & targets) pic.twitter.com/y0WE6fcawO
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) December 7, 2024
He’s been consistent on the gridiron and in the classroom. He’s also been consistent with the message he shares when he takes the field: Long Live Kyra.
It’s Stovall’s way to honor his older sister, Melkyra, who died in August of 2018. She was in a car accident and died after 15 days in the hospital.
“(She’s) an amazing person,” Stovall said of his sister. “Charismatic, always there for everybody, funny. (She) kept the family together.”
The Stovalls had moved to Gardena, California at the end of 2017, meaning they were facing this unimaginable challenge within a community they knew for just eight months.
Melquan had only spent spring ball and summer with his new Serra Gardena team.
“He wasn’t tackling this with the guys he had been with for three years,” Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. “He had to move into this new area, and then all this happens. It was a lot.”
While his time had been short with Serra, Melquan felt he could lean on his teammates and coaches.
“I was going back and forth between the hospital and school, visiting her.” Stovall said. “At Serra Gardena, the coaches did a great job making sure my (mental health) was good and everything was OK and checking in on me.”
Altenberg said the school has about 400 students, meaning they’re able to embrace and support those who are struggling with whatever may come.
“We kind of are naturally a family kind of unit,” Altenberg said. “I know everyone says it, but we are. When this happened with Mel, it was like, ‘That’s one of our guys.'”
The support was there. but even the escape of football couldn’t outrun the grief Melquan was feeling.
“He was just a bundle of emotion all the time,” Altenberg said. “He’d be doing his normal thing, working really hard. Then he would just kind of drift off. He just had so much going in his head.”
The service to honor Melkyra was on September 7, 2018. Serra had a game that evening against Long Beach Poly.
Melquan went straight from his sister’s funeral to the game.
“I didn’t practice the majority of that week,” Stovall said. “It was kind of tough getting out there with all the emotions I was feeling that day. I knew I needed to be there with my team and surrounded by love that they bring to me.”
The senior wide receiver caught five passes for 77 yards.
His final catch was the game-winning touchdown.
Livin’ In a Dream #RestEasySis👼🏾 pic.twitter.com/8bD3y65Ek7
— Melquan Stovall (@Melquan_1) September 25, 2018
“I went straight to the sideline and just prayed,” Stovall recalls. “I knew she was guiding me through that entire game.”
It was perhaps the most profound example of the consistency and work ethic Stovall has become known for.
“He fought through it. In the end, he catches the game winning touchdown,” Altenberg said. “It’s who he is. He doesn’t stay down. He just keeps going.”
It’s a theme that’s followed Stovall since then. He started his college career at Nevada and Colorado State before playing the last two seasons with Arizona State, where he’s blossomed as a leader. Even as one of the Sun Devils’ smallest wide receivers, you’ll see him come away with contested catches time and again while much bigger defenders drape themselves on him in coverage.
“You’re never going to get a guy who works any harder,” Altenberg said. “He will attack blocking just as hard as he attacked route-running. The glamour stuff versus the blue collar stuff, he doesn’t distinguish them.”
He attacks the classroom as well. He already has one Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and is slated to earn his second Master’s Degree in Global Security (Cybersecurity) next spring.
The first Student-Athlete of the Month we want to congratulate is our High-Achieving Male Melquan Stovall from @ASUFootball We are proud of your commitment to academics this month! @TheSunDevils #O2V pic.twitter.com/3jtcFCnLfL
— Sun Devil OSAD (@SunDevil_OSAD) December 12, 2024
That mindset helped the Sun Devils win the Big 12 Championship and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“I’m not taking things for granted,” Stovall said. “I’m being a good teammate, doing all the little things and doing them correctly. I go out there like it’s my last time taking the field.”
Much like that touchdown catch against Long Beach Poly, Stovall still carries Melkyra with him in the highs and lows of life.
“I try to keep her name alive and tell everybody about her,” Stovall said.
In games, you won’t see Melquan Stovall talk much. His leadership is felt through what he does on and off the field, not necesarily what comes out of his mouth.
But his loudest declaration on game day is written across his face in big, bold letters for any fan, teammate or opponent to see.
Long. Live. Kyra.
“They can see who I’m playing for.”
