Turning the page: QB Preston Stone set for new football chapter

DALLAS -- As Dallas Parish Episcopal quarterback Preston Stone prepared for the holiday break, he took a deep breath and let reality sink in. His holiday break was a permanent break from high school athletics, academics, life, everything Parish related.

Stone is an early graduate of Parish, and in a few weeks, he'll officially be a college freshman at SMU. The "what if" of Stone being an SMU Mustangs will be no more. It'll all be legitimate.

His high school football career finished a few days ago with back-to-back TAPPS Division I state championships. College football recruiting is over, as he signed his national letter of intent to play for SMU on Dec. 16.

In a short sentence: Goals achieved.

"It's pretty hard not to be content with back-to-back state championships," Stone said. "We only lost two games combined this game and last year. I wish I could get those games back, but from a team standpoint, I'm happy."

Stone's high school resume, in the eyes of some, is near-impeccable. He threw for 13,207 yards for his career, more than any other Texas high school quarterback in the history of Dallas-area football, according to information from Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Former Ennis standout Graham Harrell -- who went on to star at Texas Tech and see time in the NFL before becoming a college football coordinator (he's now at USC) -- threw for 12,532 yards from 2000-03.

Stone's career passing total ranks fourth all-time in Texas high school football history. Only Grant Gunnell (Houston St. Pius X, 16,108 yards) Hunter Lile (Booker, 14,408) and Travis Quintanilla (Refugio, 13,832) threw for more yards. As a true dual-threat option, he finished with 15,331 all-purpose yards and 179 total touchdowns.

It's a quarterback's life that the 6-2, 215-pound Stone has defined as "surreal." One extraordinary football chapter has closed, and he now prepares for the next chapter. The four-star prospect now will enter college as the highest-rated recruit in SMU history, since Rivals.com began rating prospects in 2002.

"That's really cool, just a huge honor. It's something I'm grateful for," Stone said. "I think it definitely sets a high expectation for me, but my goal going into SMU is to grow as best as I can, and to help out the team as best I can."

The expectations are high, but for someone who many are expecting immediate success, Stone understands the transition won't be easy -- or automatic. He'll be a true freshman battling for playing time against the incumbent starter Derek Green, the backup to Shane Buechele, in 2020, and Tanner Mordecai, the newest member of the team as a transfer from Oklahoma.

A competitive battle for starting quarterback is something Stone expected entering college. He also has said there will be no hard feelings if he isn't named the starter upon arrival.

Again, this is a new chapter for Stone -- which means new challenges, new objectives.

And new goals to obtain.

"My whole life, the expectations I hold most important are the expectations I set for myself," he said. "That's really all I'm trying to prove to anyone -- to prove I can achieve my dream of being a successful college quarterback and bring SMU to prominence and get that national championship."

Stone threw for 3,429 yards as a senior at Parish. He's rated as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2021 class and is a Rivals150 player. He chose SMU over 40-plus offers.

The minute Stone announced his commitment on Jan. 4, during halftime of the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, he was viewed as SMU's chosen one, a player who can be a game-changer and help get the Mustangs over the hump not only as an American Athletic Conference team but as a Group of 5 representative that one day can play for a national title.

Stone has every green light in the world to be a cocky, overly satisfied football prospect. But his demeanor is completely the opposite. It all starts with a to-do list the first minutes of arriving on campus.

"I want to get familiar with the terminology and the concepts we're going to run," Stone said. "When I get on campus, I want to dedicate myself to Coach Kaz [Kazadi] and the strength and conditioning staff. That's something I'm going to take great pride in and take complete advantage of. I'll be spending a bit of my time in the weight room with Coach Kaz."

SMU is expected to begin the spring semester on Jan. 25, but January Term classes for SMU students will start Jan. 7. The spring football practice schedule hasn't been officially released, but a March start is expected, assuming COVID-19 doesn't play a negative factor.

Whatever the case, Stone is ready to go.

"Sending in that paper [LOI] to the coaches was a great moment for me and my family," Stone said. "It's just really crazy that now I'm going to get to be a part of this thing we've been talking about for years now."