Dillon Stoner on 2018: ‘It’s Going to Be a Good Year’

In a deep and talented receiver pool such as Oklahoma State’s, it can be hard to stick out. But that’s just what do-it-all receiver Dillon Stoner has done during his short time at OSU.

Stoner has been turning heads on the practice field since he showed up in Stillwater two years ago. And after his 2016 season was cut short with injury, Stoner was finally able to do the same on Saturdays this fall.

His delayed coming out party came in the Week 3 rout of Pitt and saw him grab five of the six balls thrown his way for 100 yards and his first trip to pay dirt as a Cowboy.

“I think there’s always room for improvement,” said Stoner during OSU’s first bowl practice on Friday. “It was a good season and a good year, but there’s still a lot of things that I need to improve on to be a better receiver.

“My freshman year, I was in here not really sure of the playbook. Once I got comfortable with the playbook, I could just play. You feel way more relaxed and I felt like that made my routes sharper and I was able to calm down and just read defenses and play football.”

To his point, the former Jenks superstar looked perfectly at home when given the opportunity in 2017. And even with all that talent around (and ahead of) him, he was a featured target in the best passing offense in the nation.

“It meant a lot to have Mason’s trust,” admitted Stoner, “especially with the senior receivers and other guys we have who have been here like Jalen [McCleskey]. It means a lot to me that he trusts me and I’m just always trying to make a play whenever I can.”

Stoner earned that trust by being one of Rudolph’s most sure-handed targets in 2017. He logged the highest catch rate (76.9 percent) of any Cowboy wideout and his 63.5 percent success rate (the measure of efficiency at moving the chains per Football Study Hall) is the highest of any Poke that saw at least four targets this year.

Stoner ranked fourth on the team in catches and yards and added five scores. And two of the three above him will play their final collegiate game in Orlando later this month in future pros James Washington and Marcell Ateman. Both will leave big holes in both leadership and on-field production. Stoner is here for both.

“Losing the guys that we have on the team this year, we’re going to have to step up as a receiving corps next year and I’m excited to see how the young guys develop,” said Stoner. “It’s going to be a good year next year as well.”

For now, Stoner says his focus is on being the best player he can be, which is especially important as he looks be a top target for whoever is slinging the rock in Stilly next fall.