BREAKING: Northwestern lands SMU Quarterback Preston Stone

It looks like Northwestern has found its 2025 quarterback.

Coach David Braun hit the transfer portal by adding former SMU quarterback Preston Stone, according to Adam Rittenberg. Moments after the Mustangs lost in the College Football Playoff, Stone announced his decision.

Stone will head to Evanston for his final year of eligibility after starting 16 games over three seasons with the Mustangs. In that time, he accumulated over 4,000 passing yards and had a 35-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He added six more scores on the ground.

Stone, a former four-star recruit, stands 6-foot-1, 214 pounds and was instrumental in leading SMU to the AAC Championship in 2023. Stone broke his leg in the final game of the regular season, allowing Kevin Jennings to take the top spot the depth chart and never look back.

For Northwestern, Stone is a key addition to a Wildcat team that finished with just seven passing touchdowns in 2024, the fewest of any Power-4 program. Right now, both Mike Wright and Jack Lausch are also set to return to the Wildcats.

Stone adds to the long list of transfer quarterbacks Northwestern has accumulated in the post-Clayton Thorson era. After four years of stability under Thorson, a transfer quarterback has been a Week 1 starter in each of the past six seasons (Hunter Johnson, Peyton Ramsey, Johnson, Ryan Hilinski, Ben Bryant, Wright). Stone will have the chance to extend that streak to seven.

Adding Stone continues Northwestern’s strong start on the transfer front. The Wildcats have already received commitments from former Liberty offensive tackle Xavior Gray and former Purdue linebacker Yanni Karlaftis.