He's the heart and soul of Southern Miss football — and it's time you met him

When Stone Lott was young, Southern Miss touchdowns often meant trouble.

As the Golden Eagles’ offense edged closer and closer to the goal line, the Lott family’s focus would drift to the ROTC cannon in the north end zone at M.M. Roberts Stadium — primed to fire in celebration of Southern Miss points.

The sensory overload from the blast often made the experience overwhelming for Stone, who has since worked to overcome significant challenges relating to communication, reading and writing.

He’s learned to love the cannon — but not as much as the football program it represents loves him.

Stone, 20, works in an official capacity as a volunteer equipment manager for Southern Miss, but in reality his role is much more expansive. He is the Golden Eagles’ director of team morale, assistant wide receivers coach, Monday morning quarterback and disc-jockey, all rolled into one.

“When your kids are growing up, you don’t know what they’re going to be, there’s always those kinds of concerns for every child,” said Hank Lott, Stone’s father. “Man, they’ve answered a lot of prayer.”

Stone's pathway

It can be difficult for Hank and his wife, Melinda Lott, to reach for memories of their son before his experience at DuBard School for Language Disorders.

The differences in Stone then and now are so stark that past traits or characteristics of his are sometimes sealed away.

Stone is as communicative as they come now, not offering an ounce of hesitation when introducing himself to strangers or presenting Southern Miss coaches with his honest feedback on what he sees.

This wasn’t always true.

Melinda recently took a tour of DuBard School, located on Southern Miss’ campus, and the memories of her son came flooding back.

“When you look in the classroom and you see the child with their hands over their ears or their head down, the no eye contact and sensory overload, that was a lot of what he was,” she said.

Stone was “almost nonverbal,” according to Melinda, before he enrolled for his second-grade year. Those who approached Stone in the wrong tone of voice were not likely to receive a response. DuBard School provided the tools Stone needed, and in the process changed his life.

What set the school apart was its ability to offer an intensive experience, according to Maureen Martin, a former director at DuBard.

Classes were comprised of 10 students, and each received communication therapy throughout the day for 11 months out of the year.

“They’re miracle workers,” Hank said. “That’s just all there is to it.”

Stone attended DuBard from second through sixth grade, before returning to public school at Sumrall. He’d made progress both as a communicator and as a student, but Martin said the determined efforts of his family and the community at Sumrall allowed Stone to become the social butterfly he is today.

He even played football in high school for Shannon White, another pivotal mentor in Stone’s life.

“When he first came into our dressing room as a ninth grader he was just real quiet,” White said. “That’s kind of where he was, socially, in his development. As time went on, he slowly gained confidence with relationships, with his responsibilities down there, with his identity on the team. He continued to grow and blossom into a very verbal, communicative kid.”

Stone’s favorite memories of his time at DuBard involve Black and Gold Day, a tradition established under former USM coach Jeff Bower. Southern Miss players and staff visit with DuBard students for roughly an hour every fall.

Last season, Stone got to go back — no longer as a student gawking at his heroes, but as one of the big shots.

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Landing at Southern Miss

Two hours after Hank picked up his phone to see Southern Miss had announced the hiring of Will Hall as its football coach in December 2020, he received another notification. This one was from White.

“Hey, I’ve got a history with these guys,” White’s text read. “I coached with Bobby (Hall), Will’s dad. I’m gonna try to see if I can get Stone involved with the team.”

White gave Hall two weeks to settle in, then made the call.

“I think Will saw that this was a kid that needed a place,” White said.

Through fatherhood, Hall has personal experience helping children overcome obstacles outside their control.

His oldest son, Tripp, has what Hall describes as a high-functioning form of autism. Much like Stone, football has been an outlet for Tripp, who plays nose tackle for the junior high football team at Petal.

Shortly after White gave Hall his pitch, Hall made contact with Stone’s parents, inviting Stone in for an interview.

Stone was understandably excited. But was he nervous?

“No sir,” Stone said.

“He doesn’t get nervous,” Hank said through laughter.

He had no reason to be. What Hall had described as an interview more closely resembled a recruiting visit. Stone was treated like a five-star prospect, trying on gear, snapping photos and picking the brains of the coaches. Ever the football mind, Stone provided Hall with some input on his offensive scheme, too.

Hall didn’t waste time. When the visit was over, he asked Stone for a verbal commitment:

“Are you ready to be the next Southern Miss Golden Eagle?” Hall asked.

Every day since, Stone has climbed behind the wheel of his all-black Toyota truck with a six-inch lift and made his way to the Duff Athletic Center. If the Southern Miss coaching staff is in the office, Stone is too. He prowls the sidelines and travels with the Golden Eagles when they hit the road. Twice last season, he led Southern Miss out of the tunnel game day.

Stone helps out in the equipment room, as his title suggests, but he’s also a safe bet to tag along with strength coach Lance Ancar for some pre-practice pep talks. He can be seen tossing passes to receiver Jason Brownlee off to the side during practice or snapping footballs during a drill.

When the day is complete, he’s been known to put his sweet ride to use shuttling home quarterback Ty Keyes, or any other player who needs a lift.

His social media game is strong, too. He’s a big proponent of Instagram Live, broadcasting his thoughts on Golden Eagles football to an audience of more than 2,600 followers. Earlier this summer, he engaged in some goodhearted Instagram Live smack talk with players from the University of Miami at the goading of USM star tailback Frank Gore Jr.

“He’s the juice guy,” said Ryan Robertson, USM assistant AD for equipment operations. “He’s a special one because this can kind of get to where it wears you down, but it’s nice to have somebody that’s loving it and will bring you right back up.”

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A one-man poll

The intensity within the Southern Miss football offices has been ramping up for weeks, reaching a crescendo as the Golden Eagles prepare to host Liberty on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+).

Another vital day of judgment also looms: Stone’s quarterly staff power rankings.

The idea, originally, was Hall's. Roughly four times a year, members of the USM coaching staff gather around the whiteboard in Hall’s office and await their fate as Stone ranks the coaches one by one.

As of last week, the updated list had not yet been revealed.

“Hopefully we get to do that pretty soon,” Stone said.

You may think this is an activity that elicits just a few sideways glances or halfhearted chuckles from the Southern Miss coaching staff. You’d be wrong. Among a group of coaches and staff members who forge their identity around competition, Stone’s list is taken seriously.

Bribes are made. Champions are crowned. Pride is hurt.

“If you’re low on Stone’s list, we kill you,” tight ends coach Cayden Cochran said. “You get crushed.”

Ancar is still brandishing a chip on his shoulder about being placed outside the top 10 last time around. Wide receivers coach Desmond Lindsey is looking to retain his spot at the top. Cochran is hoping to leverage an office space that puts him close to Stone’s daily path into a better ranking.

“Stone knows how high I wanna be on that list,” Cochran said. “I gave him a cookie the other day from my Lenny’s sandwich that I got. I better be number one, or Stone and I are going to have to have a conversation.”

Hall, exempt from the proceedings, finds real value in the tradition, which has become a bonding experience of sorts for the staff.

“Stone’s rankings are always, always fun,” he said.

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Mutual benefit

As if retreating from the emotion of the moment, Hank Lott’s face contorted slightly as he discussed the opportunities Stone has been given at Southern Miss.

Melinda can still recall the nerves she felt when she watched Stone board the team bus — alone — for the first time, but those butterflies have since subsided.

Ask around and it’s clear: There is no one within the Southern Miss football facility more universally beloved than Stone.

Whenever Stone crosses paths with Brownlee, he breaks into the “Chicken Leg Weave,” Brownlee’s signature celebration dance. Keyes recently treated Stone to lunch.

“He’s awesome, man,” Lindsey said.

It’s not a one-way relationship, either. Stone is a vital component of a program out to reconstruct a culture of winning and doing the right thing.

Stone’s presence offers important perspective to those who need it. Having a bad day? Just chat with Stone.

“I think Stone is a great asset for us and I think we’ve been a great asset to him,” Hall said. “We just love him.”

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: How Stone Lott become the heart and soul of Southern Miss football