Coming off of a broken leg in the regular-season finale last year Stone won't have a normal offseason to develop after an impressive 2023. In his first year as a starter last fall, he completed 60 percent of his passes for 3,197 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions. SMU went 10-2 in Stone’s 12 starts.
The question for Stone is the same as it will be for the entire SMU team. Will the jump to a major conference prove to be too much to handle? Last season, SMU lost to all three Power-5 opponents it played including Boston College in the postseason (but that loss came after Stone's injury).