Commitment Breakdown: 2024 Rivals250 ATH JoJo Stone picks LSU
JoJo Stone feels at home in a place that's different.
LSU's newest commit loves Louisiana and the people there. His main recruiter, Tigers receiver coach Cortez Hankton, hails from The Boot as well. During his five or six visits to Baton Rouge, Stone became enamored with everything about the place.
On his most recent trip, Stone walked into Tiger Stadium. He left as the second member of LSU's 2024 class.
"They’re trying to get back to their 2019 type of dominant team," Stone said. "The type of swag they had and things, it’s just different. Tiger Stadium, just everything boils down to all pros, really. When I was weighing my decision and stuff, I really didn’t come across too many cons."
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Stone's relationship with Hankton dates back to his eighth grade year. Hankton recruited him during his time on staff at Georgia. They kept that relationship going after Hankton arrived at LSU.
Like other aspects of Louisiana, Stone sees Hankton as "different" in the way he operates. He sees him as more of a "developer" than other coaches he has come across.
"A lot of coaches, they’ll just stick their neck out and they just want to get your talent," Stone said. "But Coach Hank, we’ve actually had deep conversations about things. Like I said, he’s been recruiting me since the end of my eighth grade year. That’s a lot of time that we’ve spent together and a lot of conversations that we’ve just talked about. Our relationship is very good."
As his relationship with Hankton suggests, the Tigers see Stone as a receiver at the next level. He said he's also open to playing defensive back should the need arise.
"They’re looking to put me in space, basically, whatever they do to get me in space. That’s their plan," Stone said.
Head coach Brian Kelly is a somewhat new arrival in Stone's recruitment, having just taken the LSU job in November. In that time, Kelly has reminded Stone of Adam Carter, his head coach at Grayson High School.
Kelly's history of sending players to the NFL makes him stand out to Stone. Even more important than that, however, is Kelly's attention to detail.
"Everything is all about the little things," Stone said. "He says he doesn’t really focus on winning, he focuses on the little things that build up to winning. That’s one thing. When you start with the little things and you fix all your mental mistakes and stuff like that, that’s when you, of course, win. That’s when you get the bigger goal."
Stone's most recent trip to LSU came on June 21. His entire family accompanied him on the trip. They felt the same home feeling he has for a while now.
"Everybody loved it," Stone said. "Once you hear mama say, ‘OK, where are the papers at?’, you kind of know it’s real. It was really just a collective, everything just kind of went into place."
During the group's trip into Tiger Stadium, Stone committed to the coaches. The entire staff applauded the decision as it took place on the field.
Those cheers will one day multiply by the thousands when Stone takes the field in Baton Rouge. He wants to be part of a group that helps get the Tigers back to their winning ways.
"I just want to be dominant, just have that it factor on the field," Stone said. "When you see players like Travis Hunter, Alvin Kamara, players who just have that it factor, you always know where they’re at on the field. That’s one thing I want to bring to LSU. I want to get them back to how the team was in 2019."