Photo by Gregory French/MTSU Sidelines
Holcomb, Counts, Dasher, Kilgore and soon, Stockstill. Quarterback Brent Stockstill is poised to be the next great quarterback from Middle Tennessee State University. Although the sophomore is on pace to shatter every career passing record at MTSU, Stockstill remains humble and acknowledges the importance of his teammates as well as those who have paved the way before him.
“As a quarterback, you got to have playmakers around you,” Stockstill said about his teammates. “It’s my job to be the point guard of the offense and distribute the ball. I wouldn’t be half the quarterback I am without them.”
Stockstill places value more on winning than individual statistics. He has grown up around the MTSU program, being head coach Rick Stockstill’s son. Stockstill has also had the opportunity to meet many of the quarterbacks from Middle Tennessee’s past. Although he recognizes that he is within striking distance of many school records, it means more to him to be put in the same breath as the quarterbacks he grew up watching.
“There have been some great quarterbacks come through [MTSU]. I’ve seen a lot of them play and know most of them personally,” Stockstill said about being compared to other MTSU quarterbacks. “To be recognized with those guys would be really humbling.”
Stockstill is coming off a freshman campaign that brought the first 4,000 yard and 30 touchdown passing season to Middle Tennessee. After one full season and through the first two games of the 2016 season, Stockstill is already MTSU’s all-time leader in 300-yard passing games (10), most consecutive completions (22), and most completions in a season (327).
The 2015 C-USA Freshman of the Year award recipient also ranks eighth on the all-time passing list (4,774 yards) and is fourth in touchdown passes (38). Stockstill needs 3,233 more yards to catch Wes Counts’ record for most yards in a career, and he needs just 16 more touchdowns to move past Logan Kilgore to become the school’s all-time leader in passing scores.
If Stockstill is able to have a year similar to his freshman campaign, he will likely break some of the career records at MTSU, while still having two years of eligibility left.
Stockstill also is on the watch list for national awards such as the Peyton Manning Award and the Maxwell Award, which is given to the best offensive player in the country. The star quarterback is even considered a dark-horse Heisman candidate.
In his second season we can expect more great things from the sophomore.
“I feel much more mature out on the field,” Stockstill said when asked about how this season is different from last season. “Everything is slowing down and I feel like I am in control of every situation the game can present to me. It’s a comfort level that I’m pretty excited about right now.”
While getting to run a spread offense certainly boosts passing stats, the talents of Brent Stockstill cannot be overstated. Blue Raider fans should be excited for the next couple of years as we live in the Brent Stockstill era of MTSU football.
Middle Tennessee heads to Ohio for Saturday’s contest with Bowling Green, looking to rebound from a rough loss at Vanderbilt. The Blue Raiders and Falcons can be seen on ESPN3 Saturday at 11 a.m.
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To contact Sports Editor Connor Ulrey (@connorulrey), email sports@mtsusidelines.com.
