In tight-lipped QB battle, Preston Stone offers more than just production for Northwestern football

There's a little bit of a mystery surrounding the quarterback battle within Northwestern football.

At NU's Pro Day, Wildcats head coach David Braun said the team hadn't named a starter. The team likely won't for a while. On Thursday, offensive coordinator Zach Lujan added more mystery to the situation.

"Next question, please," Lujan said when asked how the Northwestern quarterback battle looked during spring practice.

Gamesmanship is a key part of spring football. There's no need to show any part of your hand when there's no reason to. At quarterback, the ‘Cats will start one of Preston Stone, Jack Lausch and Ryan Boe this season. What isn’t a mystery, though, is what Stone brings to the NU program.

Stone transferred to Northwestern from Southern Methodist. He played a part in lifting the SMU program into a College Football Playoff contender under Rhett Lashlee. He threw for 4,317 yards and 41 touchdowns in his four seasons with the Mustangs. Stone knows it too, especially when it comes to sharing the wealth.

"I think I do a really good job of distributing the ball; you can see from our time when I was playing at SMU," Stone said Thursday. "I think I do a really good job of distributing the ball and when the play breaks down, I feel really comfortable moving and throwing on the run. That's where chemistry with these guys has been really huge in being on the same page when we get kind of off schedule."

That's not all. Beyond his numbers, Stone brings plenty of intangibles to Evanston along with his production as a quarterback.

Stone was the starter at SMU in 2023. He threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns against six interceptions, leading SMU to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. Stone broke his leg late in 2023 and eventually lost the starting quarterback job to Kevin Jennings.

Still, Stone stayed loyal to SMU and stuck with the team during the Mustangs' CFP run this year. That stuck out to Northwestern, as Stone stayed with the team even as the Wildcats were trying to recruit him.

That entire process capped a crazy week, Stone said.

"I was doing my finals. It was the Sunday before we played Penn State, so Coach Lashlee let me fly up here for a day and get to meet the staff," Stone said. "Then I flew back home that night and then finals Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and practice game prep, getting ready for Penn State."

That stuck out to Northwestern.

"I think what's lost is that Preston was an unbelievably successful winning quarterback," Lujan said. "He took SMU to really the next level, he lost his job to somebody who's going to be a Heisman hopeful this upcoming year. Well, that's not in any way, shape or form a knock on Preston, but really speaks to who he is as a player, person and competitor."

Stone could also fill the need Northwestern has at quarterback, much like Peyton Ramsey did transferring in from Indiana in 2020.

Lausch was a talented dual-threat quarterback for the Wildcats last year, but the offense as a whole struggled as Lausch split time with Boe near the end of the season.

Stone immediately lifts the quarterback room. His presence will test Lausch and Boe, who need to have considerable quarterbacking skills to beat Stone in a competition.

Those skills include matching the demeanor Stone has.

"He's done a phenomenal job stepping in," Lujan said. "Obviously a mature kid. He's played a lot of football, won a lot of football games, and just his leadership style across the board. He kind of has this calm demeanor about him, but very urgent and intentful with everything that he does."

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Stone learned this through experience. He's only been at Northwestern a few months, but has played four years of college football across two different conferences.

What Stone learned in that time is something that fits NU like a glove.

"One of the biggest things is that individual success comes through the team," Stone said. "That really resonated with me and it was awesome to come into a program where that was already understood. You go into this locker room and there's no egos."

Northwestern will likely continue its quarterback competition into August practices. There's another transfer portal window coming up, and NU can bring more pieces into the fold.

Then, the 'Cats will get a chance to piece its depth chart together. 

With Stone in the fold, the offense could look different in all the right ways. He brings experience and skill. He also brings confidence. 

"We've got some swagger right now," Stone said. "I think confidence can take an offense and can take a team really far."