Another Texas Longhorns player has left the program on Tuesday as senior kicker Will Stone joins sophomore running back Jerrick Gibson in departing the Forty Acres, according to Orangebloods. Inside Texas had
reported that Stone plans to redshirt this season.
Stone will have one year of eligibility remaining after he enters the NCAA transfer portal.
An Austin Regents School product, Stone was ranked as the No. 3 kicker in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, choosing Texas over an offer from Michigan State.
Recruited to replace Cameron Dicker, Stone was not able to beat out walk-on Bert Auburn for the kicking job in 2022, instead settling into a role as the kickoff specialist. When Auburn struggled last season, Stone took over place-kicking duties in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ohio State, hitting two extra points, but did not attempt a field goal.
That remains the case for Stone’s career with the Longhorns after Texas brought in Texas State transfer Mason Shipley during the offseason, precipitating Auburn’s departure.
Stone remained the kickoff specialist despite missing the UTEP and Sam Houston games with an undisclosed injury, recording eight touchbacks on 20 kickoffs this season.
When Stone was out, Shipley handled the kickoff duties with a touchback rate of 20 percent and one that went out of bounds against the Bearkats, so the Horns are likely to see some drop off in that phase following Stone’s departure.
