Preston Stone's wait is worth it as he takes over as SMU QB

Preston Stone’s been a marque quarterback name for years now. Date it back to Dallas (Tex.) Parish Episcopal as a 9th grader, where he shined.

That led then SMU offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to swing through for spring practice. The highly-touted prospect with offers from coast-to-coast did not disappoint.

“It was almost like the scene in Varsity Blues where, ‘There Goes My Hero’ is playing by Foo Fighters and this dude starts running on the field,” Lashlee recalled this week. “There’s all these senior girls screaming, hollering, ‘Yay, Preston!’ It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. He trotted right out there like he belongs. I watched him throw for about 20 minutes. It was without question the best throwing session I’ve ever seen a 9th grader do.”

After a prolific prep career, he had to sit behind Tanner Mordecai for two years and learn. There was a coaching change, bringing back Lashlee to Dallas. Some quarterbacks would’ve been in the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Not the SMU legacy, who grew up in Highland Park, Texas going to Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

“It means a lot, it really does,” Stone said of being the starter now. “I’ve been coming to SMU games for as long as I can remember. Coming here and watching Kyle Padron and Matt Davis play. Now to finally get to play quarterback for this schools is really, really special. I feel confident in the decision I made in high school and I’m very, very glad I stuck with SMU.” 

“That’s the hardest thing in college football right now,” SMU quarterbacks coach Jonny Brewer added. “Guys that are talented coming in and sitting there saying, ‘I should be playing as a freshman or redshirt freshman.’ It goes back to trust. Trust with coach Lashlee when we recruited him. Trust we built when we came back and said, ‘This is the process, this is what we believe. This is what you need to work on to become the guy.’ He believed it. It does take a lot of trust with the quarterbacks.”

His last play in a 2022 season filled with various levels of game experience was a routine run that broke his collarbone. He started off hot, going 11-of-17 for 219 yards and a touchdown in his first career start at Tulsa.

Now, he’s ready to get back on the field. Stone’s ready to take a hit and get woken up a bit.

“Feels really good. I’m excited to finally get to take the field with my guys. Feel like it’s been a long time coming,” Stone said. “I think I definitely have a lot more confidence than I did going into this game than I did last year for sure. Going into my first start last year, there’s kind of an aspect where you’re trying to feel it out a little bit. Getting just the little bit of experience under my belt last year I feel like has prepared me for this game.”

Stone lands captaincy ahead of 2023 season

Not only is he a stater, but he’s a captain. For two and a half years, fans have watched Stone’s enthusiasm in practice. With his role now, he’s able to put his stamp on the team.

“This is his team,” Brewer said. “He’s taken it over, especially the offense. They feed off his energy. Every play, his fist bumping Rooster or LJ in the backfield. You feel that kind of thing all the time. You can feel the offense shift into his mode, which is good to see.”

“Preston’s one of my best friends on the team,” center Branson Hickman said. “It’s great to have a good center, quarterback relationship. Preston’s a competitor. He’ll light a fire under you. He’ll get the offense going. It’s what you need at quarterback. Very thankful to have him.”

Stone’s matured over his time at SMU and ready for the captain role.

“That was a really, really big honor for me,” Stone said. “Just to feel the recognition from my teammates to be chosen as a leader was something that was very gratifying for me. Something I don’t take lightly. I’m just going to try to be the best version of myself I can be.”

That means taking what the defense gives him, operating within SMU’s high-flying offense. He’s got plenty of talent around him to be successful.

“I think Preston’s biggest thing is Preston just needs to be Preston,” SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods said. “I think there’s a lot of weight and pressure that can be put, and he’s got a lot of outside attention for a guy that’s taken less than 100 snaps in his career. We’ve got a lot of good players out there. Be a great distributor of the ball, which he is. He is naturally really good at being a, ‘Lights come on, gamer,’ football player. That part of playing football is super natural and super easy for him. It’s continuing to develop him within the offense. He’s coming along at exactly the rate he needs to be, in my opinion.”

Stone could be emotional and Lashlee said he’s unsure what he’ll see out of him, but that excitement is there with him too.

“He’s excited, which in some ways is awesome, some ways who knows early on,” Lashlee said. “There may be some emotions. It’s real easy to get ramped up for your first game no matter what. I feel really confident in his preparation. I think he feels really confident in what we’re doing. He just needs to go out and trust his teammates.”

Getting to live out a dream is rare, but on Saturday, Stone makes his first start in Ford Stadium.

“I look at it every day as a huge privilege. It’s a really cool feeling and something I don’t take lightly. … I know this is the right place for me.””