Troy Polamalu may have cornered the market on NFL endorsements for shampoo companies for the moment, but he shouldn't feel comfortable in the feeling that he has the market cornered for long. There's a challenger coming for his title of "most luscious long athlete hair," and he's taking a page out of Polamalu's stylebook and cranking it up another notch.
The player you see at right is Los Angeles (Calif.) Crenshaw defensive back Max Lyons, a standout prep defensive back who has legitimate Division I football hopes, has been growing out his locks since the sixth grade, a span of six years.
In that time, Lyons' curly mane has grown so voluminous that he can no longer contain it underneath his helmet.
According to a video interview from the Los Angeles Times, Lyons hasn't even brushed his hair in six months, letting the mop top grow and flourish, just as Crenshaw has on the field, racing out to a 4-1 early season record.
As it turns out, Lyons' hair may have had some small part in that on-field success, too, if you believe in superstitions. During his postgame interview with the Times, Crenshaw teammate Mossi Johnson walked by and gave a solid tug on Lyons' hair.
The result was a brief yell and then a hearty laugh … and a sense that maybe Lyons' ever-growing hair was a good luck charm for the Cougars.
Whether that is still the case now is anyone's guess. Still, Lyons continues to play a major part in Crenshaw's stifling defense, which held traditional power Oaks Christian scoreless in a 13-2 Week 5 victory (the only Oaks Christian points came on a safety).
If he keeps it up, Lyons will get a chance to show off his hair next year in a major college uniform, likely for a Pac-12 school. If that happens then all bets are off about his endorsement future, whether Polamalu is still around to peddle Pert Plus or not.
Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
College football video from Yahoo! Sports:
Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
• Nicholas J. Cotsonika: Collusion question goes to the heart of NHL lockout
• Ryder Cup golfers encourage fans to cheer loud and long
• Fantasy: RB matchups to exploit
• Y! News: Home intruder takes a shower