HONOLULU — Cam Stone took the Paniolo Trophy, hoisted it over his head and hustled toward a celebrating throng of yellow-and-brown-clad Wyoming fans at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.
That euphoric Oct. 29 night for he and his teammates — a 27-20 win at Hawaii that helped the Cowboys clinch bowl eligibility — is now a surreal juxtaposition to present circumstances, and a testament to how quickly things can change in the modern college game. Stone, less than a year later, is not only a Rainbow Warrior, but is expected to be one of UH’s most important players for the upcoming 2023 season.
Stone arrived out of the transfer portal with respect in hand — he is UH’s lone preseason all-Mountain West pick — and the 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior has done nothing to change that through three days of fall practices.
Quarterback Brayden Schager remembered with clarity the game against UH that Stone had — three pass breakups and a tackle for loss — covering Zion Bowens in both off-man and press man defenses. Schager could smile now, but the close loss to the Cowboys and of the bronze perpetual trophy contested between the teams sure stung at the time.
“He’s probably the best corner in the conference,” Schager said after Day 1 of camp. “It’s good to get a look on him. It’s good for our receivers to go against a guy like that, because he’s probably one of the best we’ll see.”
The UH coaches are likewise bullish on Stone.
Said head coach Timmy Chang: “Cam Stone’s a good player. He’ll play a lot of games and it’s hard to complete a ball on a good corner.”
Co-defensive coordinator Jacob Yoro: “What he brings to us mentally, emotionally, leadership, experience, all of the intangibles that he brings … he makes our defense a lot better.”
New cornerbacks coach Steve Irvin: “He’s got savvy and finesse and he’s been around the game. We expect a lot of big things out of him. Ego’s not too big where he thinks he knows it all. He’s still working hard to get better, just like the rest of the group.”
For the player, the fresh start has been welcome, too. He recalled that UH called him a couple of days after he entered the transfer portal in December. Stone, who had positive memories of his Hawaii trip in Mountain West play, was pretty much sold.
“Really when they called me it was already a top option, just being here and seeing the scenery,” he said. “I wasn’t one to chase a bigger school or anything like that, but I enjoyed it here. I took my visit and enjoyed it even more. It was kind of a done deal after that.”
Stone, of Angleton, Texas, said he felt welcomed immediately by players he used to line up against.
He changed his number from his customary 4 (his profile on the X platform, formerly Twitter, is C4) to the available No. 0, which to him represented opportunity and a fresh start with a team looking to prove itself coming off a 3-10 season.
Stone, as one of the defense’s most experienced players in terms of both years and time spent going up against other Mountain West teams, said he thinks UH’s young unit can be “very competitive” in conference play.
“We have very good, vocal leaders. Now it’s just getting everybody on board,” Stone said. “Coach Sheff (associate head coach Thomas Sheffield) talked about something called ‘kill the boy,’ which I thought was really big. There’s a lot of immaturity in the group, as far as age. It’s just been a lot of growth, everybody manning up and just taking that spot. Sizing up the room basically. A lot of people are doing that and it really shows. I think we can do some pretty good things on defense this year.”
Stone will likely be counted on for not just shutdown defense on the offense’s right side, but as returner on kickoffs and punts. Sheffield, the special teams coordinator, convinced him it would be invaluable in burnishing his resume for a look at the next level.
Stone had a 99-yard kickoff return as a sophomore in 2021, the second-longest runback in Cowboys history. He averaged 22 yards on seven kickoff returns last season, when he was named an all-conference honorable mention with 10 pass breakups and two interceptions.
Stone contributed to Wyoming’s first win in Honolulu as a Mountain West member. As fortune would have it, the Cowboys remain on UH’s eight-game conference schedule in the MWC’s new division-less format.
In the final road trip of the season in November, UH travels to Laramie, where the Paniolo Trophy is encased.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.