Preston Stone reacts to being named SMU starting QB: "My confidence is at an all-time high"

well when did Coach tell you that you got the job and getting the nod uh against Nevada uh I think last week um last week I mean I've been preparing like I'm going to be the starter since you know since I got healthy so um but it was definitely great to have that re re reaffirmation from coach Lashley and I'm ready to go you've battled to be a starter ever since you got here did this year feel any different coming off starting but also the injury or how did this maybe compare to last offseason and your first off season here yeah I think um obviously anybody who breaks your leg is going to set set him back a little bit um you a little bit mentally you got to gain that confidence back through your work ethic and your preparation and you know just missing a whole spring that it takes a it takes a little bit to get the speed of the game back but um you know I think once I got healthy and once I started getting back at fall Camp it started to feel a little bit more like second nature and I think um you having d here a whole year of playing under my belt last year definitely helped what did you learn about yourself with that injury adversity I mean I think just adversity makes you who you are it shows you who you are um it's very easy to have great character and to you know trust in God trusting yourself when everything's going well and then you know when something like last year happens you break your leg you've been preparing to play in the championship game your whole life at the highest level um it shows you who you are and it also shows you you know who your real friends friends are who your real family is and I think I've had an amazing support system with me throughout this whole this whole process um really throughout my whole life and throughout College uh when the adversity did hit and so um I just could be more proud of my team and how we've ried around each other and they we're ready to go beat Nevada coach Lashley said that he expects Kevin to still get some playing time as well does that change things for you and what's it like to know that you know you might be kind of sharing STS with him and having him come in as well um I'm just going to play my game you know I think U I feel as prepared to go play a game as I ever have um you know when Kevin goes in he's going to do great there there's no question about that he's a great player he's a great great guy so um I'm just going to do my job as best I can be as good of a leader as I can and uh get ready from the battle does the mindset change for you compared to last year where it was your first time you know really being the starter the guy and and doing all those things and now you've got all your receivers back You' got so much continuity around you is it a little bit more settling in a sense or is it 100% 100% I think I really feel like my confidence at an alltime High playing right now um you know I feel more stable in the pocket I feel like I have more chemistry with this receiver group than I've ever had um so you know I feel I have a ton of confidence in myself a ton of confidence in my team and I have no doubt that we're ready you tell where this team is versus last year at this point in time going to the season and how confident are you you make a nice one like you did last year well there's no question that we have more Talent than we've ever had since I've been here um and that comes from the younger guys that have developed and have done really well you know I think you know we've got a ton of transfers but there's also guys like you know Ahad Moses it's just year three for him he's one of the best players we have on defense he's an our transfer will Nettles has been really great um you know Dereck McFall freshman coming in he's going to be really well so um I think we're we're as prepared as we can be and I feel like I would ton of confidence in our team right now does it help going up against this defense every every day oh 100% dud I'm I look at Elijah Roberts every day and I just go dude I'm so happy I don't have to play against you um you know when Saturdays comes you you you have that Fearless mindset you don't want to you don't want to have any hesitation any sort of fear going against anybody but out here you know I get to look at those guys and I'm just like I feel bad for the other team's quarterback what are your thoughts on that ahead this week uh there a great team you know I think I remember what it was like our first game uh with a new head coach with Coach Lashley you know we we came out guns blazing we were you know a lot of energy a lot of fun so I expect the same thing from those guys and that is a great program and um but at the same time I have a ton of confidence in us you know I think whether it's Nevada hcu BYU whoever play the rest of the year if we show up and execute our game there's there's not a team that can beat us I truly believe that what's it like working behind that offensive line watching Jo with a front row seat as he's kind of developed into that Center and in some of those other spots solidified yeah um our o line is great I think um you know we have a ton of talent a lot of guys that have come in this year a lot of guys returning Logan Jo um Sparks is going to be great um you know I think when in the past few years like especially last year you know we had Marcus Bryant and hirin they were like the Twin Towers like six eight guys on the I had our tackle spots um and we may not have those six eight guys but I think this is like the nastiest o line we've had since I've been here like those guys really just want to put their head down and go hit somebody so that jacks me up that gives me a ton of confidence and I I feel really confident in our line right now do you sense the overall confidence boost that that you have with the rest of the team too you guys talk about it definitely you know I think um you know coming off a championship last year it's something that um we're definitely proud of but it's not something that we're hanging our hat on you know um you can you can feel the energy you can feel the preparation and all the work we've done for the past eight months or so to get ready for this Saturday and um you know I think there's going to be a lot of fireworks on Saturday it's going to be fun