How quarterbacks Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings got here, and why it matters for SMU

Preston Stone sits on the upper deck of Gerald J. Ford Stadium, watching construction workers put the finishing touches on a massive end zone complex representing SMU’s re-entry into major college football. The longer he fixates on the jumbotron that’ll soon show his touchdown passes, the more he remembers the grassy hill it replaced, the one he and his brothers played imaginary football games on during SMU’s real ones.

“There have been a lot of things in my life that have brought me to this season and this level of play,” Stone says. “I’ve watched SMU my whole life. I was going to games when that was still a grass hill over there. To be able to play quarterback for this team as we’re stepping into this ACC schedule with a chance to play in the College Football Playoff this year means the absolute world to me, and it’s not something I take for granted.”