Texas transfer Will Stone brings elite leg strength to Orlando, tuning out crowd noise to deliver clutch points for the teammates who battle beside him every Saturday.
Will Stone is spending his final collegiate season as the starting kicker for the UCF Knights, his first full-time start at the position.
He's been a placekicker throughout his career at Texas, showcasing impressive leg strength and developing into one of the nation's best. Stone averaged over 62 yards in kickoffs across four seasons with the Longhorns, helping them finish top-five in that category in three of the past five seasons.
The Texas transfer aims to carry that same excellence while putting points on the board in his return to the Big 12 at UCF.
Stone's teammates try to get in his head during practice, preparing him for the distractions from a loud crowd, whether home or away. He said it's easier to kick in the game because he's kicking for his teammates.
"At the end of the day, you want to kick for them just like the other 10 guys on the field are blocking for you, holding for you, snapping for you, and I'm just trying to do my job just like they're trying to do theirs," Stone said during Tuesday's media availability.
Stone started the season strong with a perfect outing against Bethune-Cookman -- 1-for-1 field goal attempts and 10-for-10 extra point attempts.
He's carrying the mantle from Noe Ruelas, whose eligibility expired at the end of last season. Ruelas became one of the most accurate kickers in program history, converting 88.2% of his field goals and making three field goals from 50-plus yards.
Stone has no experience kicking a 50-plus-yard field goal, but he has similar leg strength, and the coaching staff is confident in him.
"My coaches have confidence in me, just like I'm gonna have confidence in myself and in my teammates," Stone said. "And as far as the actual number goes for how far I can kick, hopefully I'm able to show that, not to be all talk about it."
Stone's leg strength will likely be tested this Saturday against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Pittsburgh has a historically great run defense, holding teams to 85.8 yards per game over the last five seasons.
UCF had 360 rushing yards last Thursday against Bethune-Cookman, with Duke Watson leading the way with 110 yards and one touchdown on seven carries.
The Texas transfer's perfect showing provides some confidence heading into UCF's tough Week 2 matchup, and Stone will need to step up when the run is stopped and the Knights are forced into early fourth downs.
