National Signing Day: Stone signs NLI to shine on collegiate level at OBU
For a proud day in Panther Country Wednesday, the gifted and talented playmaker on the gridiron, senior running back Landon Stone signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Ouachita Baptist University and join the Tigers collegiate program under the direction of head coach Todd Knight.
Wednesday was national signing day for all of the elite student-athletes across the nation that are taking a leap to the next level of their athletic careers to join a variety of prestigious college sports programs.
Stone, 5’10”, 180 lb. RB, is more thankful for this opportunity to play football and has enjoyed performing in a Panther football uniform to represent the PPRD (Panther Pride Runs Deep) nation the right way.
During Stone’s big day Wednesday, he spoke words of appreciation to the Magnet Cove community and everyone who has been an important part of his successful journey.
“First off I would like to thank everyone that came out today to watch me sign. It means a lot,” Stone said. “I would not have this opportunity today without the help of lots of people. First and most importantly, I want to thank God who is my Lord and Savior. None of this would be possible without him.”
Stone continued to say, “Thank you to the community, school and Booster Club at Magnet Cove for all of your support.”
“Thank you to coach Carmikle, coach Webb, coach Godfrey, coach Garrick, coach Vincent, coach Williams and coach Revels for all of the hard work and dedication you put into this football program—and teaching and preparing me to be a better player and person on and off the field,” he added.
Stone also said, “Thank you to all the teammates I have ever played with.” He added they are his brothers. “Every time we stepped on the field, we went to battle together. Thanks for always having my back,” Stone said.
He also wanted to give a huge shout out to Paxton Penny, the voice and public announcer for Magnet Cove football—Monday, Thursday and Friday nights at Kenneth W. Hammons Stadium. He also mentioned CW and Gary for announcing the Panthers games and live streaming them and a thank you to the cheerleaders and water girls for being at every game.
In conclusion Stone said, “Last I want to thank my parents, brothers and sister and the rest of my family and friends for loving and supporting me. Thanks for coming to all of my games or watching them on YouTube and being my biggest fans.”
He added, “I have loved every second of being a Panther. My best memories have been made from playing football and baseball for Magnet Cove.” Stone ended by saying, “I am very blessed and excited for the opportunity to play football for OBU. I hope I can make Magnet Cove proud. Go Panthers, Go Tigers.”
Stone has blossomed throughout his high school athletic career for the Magnet Cove football program. While Stone showcased a productive talent on the field at Kenneth W. Hammons Stadium and other stadium venues in the Natural State—while wearing the No. 15 Panther jersey, he earned consecutive All-State and All-Conference honors to lead Magnet Cove to the playoffs during the 2019 and 2020 football seasons. For his career as an outstanding high school running back, he has
racked up more than 5,240 yards and scored 50 plus touchdowns for trips into the end zone. Defensively, Stone rack up more than 220 tackles and around 30 tackles for loss.
During Stone’s junior season, he had 266 carries for 2,757 yards rushing for 30 touchdowns for 2,904 total yards for the Panthers remarkable 2019 season—capturing the league title with a unbeaten 7-0 conference record, and the Panthers first conference championship under head coach Caleb Carmikle. The Panthers earned a No. 1 seed in the Class 2A state playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals to host the first three rounds of the postseason.
This past season, Stone performed multiple positions at quarterback and continued to bulldoze through the defense as the explosive running back to utilize the Panther ground attack. Stone rushed for more than 1,660 yards and scored 15 touchdowns and defensively, racked up 40
tackles for his senior year.
Carmikle was very proud to have coached a special and talented player, who felt Stone always had the college caliber ability. Camikle mentioned Wednesday during the signing day ceremony, Stone is one of the best ever Panther players in their football program and was excited for him to have this opportunity to play this sport on the collegiate level.
According to Ouachita Baptist University Sports Information Department, Ouachita Baptist football announced their 2021 signing class includes an incoming freshman class of 27—which includes 17 players from Arkansas, seven from Texas, two from Louisiana and one from Tennessee.
OBU football head coach Knight has also released a statement of all of the incoming signees that are joining the Tigers program and looks forward to coaching them and to continue success at Ouachita.
Knight said about the signees,”This whole year is really about adversity. These guys that are coming in this year have been through a ton. These guys have been up and down. There’s just a mental toughness about the group coming in after what they’ve been through.”
Knight also mentioned, “The other thing I like about the class, even if it wasn’t a COVID year, is that we’ve spread it out. We’ve got offensive linemen, defensive linemen, quarterbacks, defensive backs. We’ve run the whole gamut. And we didn’t just sell out with a normal class. We had to hold back a little bit, because we’re carrying six classes with current players carrying extra eligibility after not playing in the fall.”