Rhett Lashlee updates status of SMU QB Preston Stone
SMU quarterback Preston Stone left the win over Navy with a left leg injury and was carted off on Saturday. Now it’ll be Kevin Henry-Jennings starting this week as the Mustangs look to win a conference championship.
Stone was scrambling around and was crunched in the backfield with the score 42-7 in the 1st half. Head coach Rhett Lashlee said on the American Athletic Conference Championship Game teleconference that Stone’s out for the rest of the season.
“He had an appointment, actually today, with a specialist to confirm what we all feared is he broke his lower leg and so he’ll be out for the remainder of the season,” Lashlee said of his starting quarterback. “It’s the fibula. So kind of the upper ankle, lower leg. It was, at least from everything we’ve been told, it’s really clean. It’s something that he should make a 100% recovery after some time. I don’t know exactly yet if he’ll be back for the beginning of spring ball, but I would think by the middle of March he should be almost back up throwing and doing everything.
“Should have a full summer and offseason and be just fine for the future. Unfortunately, his season will come to an end, but he’s going to be okay long term.”
Stone left the Navy game with a 14-of-19 line for an impressive 322 yards and three touchdowns. The Mustangs play Tulane in the AAC Championship Game on Saturday in New Orleans.
His performance in the 59-14 win over Navy was a dominant one as he amassed the best single-quarter passing yardage performance of this season’s FBS college football season. Stone was on his way to a strong finish to the regular season.
“Really unfortunate for him was having a fantastic season and may have played his best two halves of football. The second half at Memphis and the first half last week. I think he was 14-of-19 for 322 and three touchdowns in about a quarter and a half last week,” Lashlee said. “I saw it later I didn’t know, it’s the most yards a quarterback has thrown in a single quarter since 2019. What he did in the first quarter, he was just really clicking.
“I think his growth and development all year was been exceptional. So we’re really proud of how he performed this year. We’ve got some great quarterbacks in this league, but I think you could argue he’s just as good as any of them and so we’re going to miss him.”
The 2023 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game will be televised on ABC for the ninth consecutive season, as announced by the conference. The 2023 American Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2, at 3 p.m. CT. ABC has televised The American Championship Game each year since the game’s inception in 2015.
SMU’s win over Navy pitted them against the Green Wave, which won the AAC last season and beat USC in the Cotton Bowl.
The American Athletic Conference champion has advanced to either the College Football Playoff or a New Year’s Six bowl seven times in the first nine seasons of the College Football Playoff era.
SMU will have to beat the Green Wave without Stone now as he’s out. Stone was awarded the AAC’s Offensive Player of the Week honor for his showing last week against Navy.
