Meet the Starkville barber that generations of Mississippi State football players trust

STARKVILLE — Erroll Thompson wanted a haircut.

Actually, no, as Thompson would later explain; he needed a haircut. The Mississippi State redshirt freshman linebacker gets his hair cut weekly. But on this particular date a few months ago, more than seven days had passed since his last haircut.

“On a scale of 1 to 10 of how desperate I was,” Thompson said, “I’d say 25.”

The barbershop Thompson usually visited in Starkville was packed with customers and he didn’t have time to wait. Panicked and stressed, Thompson shared his problem with his teammates, hoping to learn of an alternative to his hairy reality. That’s when Mississippi State right guard Deion Calhoun informed Thompson about Larry “Luv” Johnson.

“It has been magic ever since,” Thompson said.

Several months ago, Calhoun was in a similar situation that Thompson was in; desperate for a haircut and frustrated with the lack of options in Starkville. Former Mississippi State offensive lineman Jawon Johnson instructed Calhoun to check out his father’s shop. Now, Calhoun acts like a public relations manager when referring players to Johnson.

Johnson’s barbershop A Touch of Luv is located at 249 Martin Luther King Drive on Highway 82 in Starkville. The old brick building with etched glass signs in the front and fading signage on the side is tucked away off the highway against tall trees leaving a spacious, gravel perimeter available for parking options. Johnson, a 46-year-old Starkville resident, has owned the place for 22 years.  

“He’s one of the best barbers in Starkville,” left guard Darryl Williams said.

Williams barely finished that sentence before Calhoun cut him off.

“No,” Calhoun said. “He is the best barber in Starkville.”

Johnson is the barber for at least 15 Mississippi State football players, including running back Aeris Williams and the entire starting offensive line.

“He gets some pretty good business from the football team, that’s for sure,” Williams said.

Fresh cuts are as essential to some college football players as their diet plans. No, really. Williams and Calhoun, for example, visit Johnson together every other week, typically on Wednesday evenings.

On a recent weekday afternoon inside A Touch of Luv, Williams is in the chair. ESPN’s NBA show "The Jump" featuring host Rachel Nichols is on the 50-inch television screen mounted on the wall flanked by framed portraits of former President Barack Obama and former NBA player (and Starkville native) Travis Outlaw. Four people are occupying the two adjacent rows of chairs. They are waiting. And waiting. And … waiting.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Williams’ long beard is one of Johnson’s most-detailed pieces of work. Williams is in the chair for a total of 45 minutes.

Most of the players’ haircuts take approximately 30 minutes. So imagine when players come in on Wednesday evenings, like how Calhoun and Williams do. Johnson lists his weekday hours (Tuesday-Friday) at 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. The problem is players are usually in class, meetings or practice during that time. No matter. Johnson keeps the doors open for them — and he doesn’t charge anything beyond his usual $15, which players say is $10-$15 less than other barbers’ prices in the area.

“I try to stick around and help them out,” Johnson said. “Not everyone understands what these players go through.”

Said Calhoun: “Sometimes we don’t leave until 9 or 10 o’clock. It depends. You know he’s going to give you a good quality cut.”

So the wait is worth it, players said, even if Johnson has long-operated as the only barber in the shop (he recently made a hire). They go to him for quality, comfort, fair prices and good conversation.

“I’ve been in school,” Johnson said. “I know how hard it is with money at times. I could charge more, but money is hard to come by and I’m going to be blessed either way it goes.”

All the players are “regular regulars,” as Johnson put it, but it wasn’t always that way, though.

Johnson started in a different shop, didn’t like how things were and left to start his own business with financial support from his family. He handed out flyers and relied on word of mouth. Soon, one Mississippi State football player became a customer. Then two. Three. And so on.

Likely the most popular player/customer was former NFL cornerback Fred Smoot.

“He was by far the most outspoken,” Johnson said. “I’ve had several come through here. But Fred Smoot was just a little different. He got the same cut all the time. He would come back every now and then even when he was with the Washington Redskins and would say, 'Luv, you need to move to D.C., man.'”

Former Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom was another regular. Croom learned of Johnson right before taking the MSU job. Starkville native and former NFL player Antuan Edwards recommended Johnson to Croom when Edwards and Croom were with the Green Bay Packers together. An autographed photo of Croom is on Johnson’s mirror inside the shop. The two remain close.

Over the last two decades, players and coaches have come and gone in Starkville, but Johnson remains.

“As far as the younger crowd,” Johnson said, “I’m the oldest guy that’s doing it right now for them.”

And they continue to come back when they get older, too.

Earlier this week, former Mississippi State offensive lineman Quentin Saulsberry, who played for the Bulldogs from 2007-11 before a stint in the NFL and is now an officer for the Starkville Police Department, walked into the shop with his son. Saulsberry first entered A Touch of Luv 10 years ago with former MSU player and current Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright.

“There is some history here,” Saulsberry said as he waited on his son’s haircut to finish. “There have been some real legends who have come in this place over the years.”

That includes the man who owns it.