Football will face the University of Tulsa on Saturday to begin their 2025 regular season campaign. Ahead of the week one matchup, Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell and the Wildcats announced Stone Earle as the starting quarterback.
Earle, redshirt senior from Fort Worth, played for the Wildcats to begin his college career in 2020 and 2021 before transferring to the University of North Texas and Marshall University.
Since returning to the Wildcats this offseason, Earle fought through a positional battle before being named the starter less than a week before he steps onto the gridiron in the purple and white.
“He stayed the course,” Head Coach Keith Patterson said. “It was neck and neck up until about the last three or four days. He created a little bit of separation during the last week. He started playing more confidently, so we gave him the edge.”
Earle will lead the Wildcats into H.A. Chapman Stadium on Saturday, looking for a week one victory, something the team has not had since 2023.
The Golden Hurricane won just three games a season ago, posting a 3-9 record at the FBS level. The team will look to improve on its lackluster 2024 campaign under new head coach Tre Lamb, who was hired from East Tennessee State University in December of 2024.
The mission for Patterson and the Wildcats is simple: take care of the ball, limit penalties and play disciplined.
“I want our guys to go out and play with no chaos,” Patterson said.
As the head coach of the Wildcats, Patterson also oversees the defense and calls defensive plays. To open the season, he wants to see his squad win on third down, force turnovers, swarm to the ball and play with relentless effort.
“If they’ll just do those things it’ll all take care of itself,” Patterson said.
Offensively, the Wildcats will look to top the offense a year ago that scored over 33 points per game, including three games with over 40 points.
“We have to attack the ball,” said Jed Castles, redshirt senior tight end from Wichita Falls. “Attack the ball, go score, play quick and play fast.”
Despite returning only a few starters from last season’s offense, the Wildcats will have Castles to lead the offense’s route runners. Castles, who entered the transfer portal and had other playing opportunities and offers, chose to return to the Wildcats because of what the program has developed over the last several seasons.
“We’ve changed the way things have been the past five years,” Castles said. “It was nothing, and we’ve made it something.”
The Wildcats will face a brand new Golden Hurricane team, one that has undergone a coaching change and numerous roster moves, including transfer Ray Coney, a Shrine Bowl watch list player to begin the season. Coney recorded 97.0 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles for ETSU in 2024.
“We’re prepared to go 1-0,” Castles said. “They have a whole new defense and a new defensive staff, so we’ve been scheming and we’re prepared for that.”
