IU football receiver's faith keeps him humble

On the inside of his right index finger, he had the phrase, “Don’t praise yourself let others praise you,” tattooed in his mother’s handwriting.

On his other index finger, the phrase, “When you become wealthy and rich and powerful, don’t say I did this, because God gave me strength,” is tattooed in his father’s handwriting.

Both are phrases of humility that keep junior wide receiver Nick Stoner
grounded.

“If I start to brag about myself, I can just put them up to my mouth and shush myself,” he said.

Stoner is one of the best athletes on the team, many of his teammates said.
He’s a Christian who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

Stoner might live in Africa after he graduates from IU with a degree in sociology and minors in psychology and religious studies.

“Me and my two best friends want to go be missionaries,” Stoner said. “I’m not sure where, maybe Africa or something. I also thought about going to seminary school ... if that’s not what God wants me to do, I’d go to law school.”

Faith is important to Stoner. He’s helped other people on the team grow in their faith.
Sophomore cornerback Michael Hunter is one of them.

“He sends me quotes now and then, sends me Bible verses,” Hunter said. “He’s outspoken, and he’ll talk about it whenever.”

Bible verses cover Stoner’s body. In all, he has eight tattoos of verses.

Besides an IU symbol, all of Stoner’s tattoos concern his faith. He’s spent between $1,200 and $1,300 on his tattoos.

Stoner pulls up the sleeve on his right arm and shows off a tattoo that mentions the Bible verse Romans 1:16.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

“Being a Christian, people are like, ‘Oh, that kid’s weird. He doesn’t drink, smoke, have sex,’ or any of that stuff,” Stoner said. “I’m unashamed of what I believe in.”

He points to another tattoo. This one looks like a robot crossing his arms, and next to the image it says, “John 8:32.”

It refers to the verse that reads, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“This is a robot, and when you’re a robot you don’t know the truth,” Stoner said, pointing to the image. “When you’re a robot, you’re not free.

“People are telling you what to do and you just go through the motions ... That’s why he’s crossing his hands. He wants to be set free, and the truth will set you free.”

Stoner openly shares his faith, so going to Africa after graduation is a natural next step.

The idea first hatched when he left for college, he said, roughly three years ago.
Why Africa? The scenes of another continent fascinate Stoner and his friends.

“I know my buddy is a real nature guy,” Stoner said. “While also serving Africa, some parts can be just an absolute beautiful place.”

Before potentially going to Africa, Stoner has some work to do both in football and track. He is on both teams for IU, making him a rare two-sport athlete.

He said his experience in track helps him in football, and vice versa.

He ran a 100-meter dash in 10.66 seconds in high school, which won the Indiana state title.

Stoner said he’s run the 100-meter dash in 10.4 or 10.5 seconds, but those were hand-held times and not official.

The Center Grove High School graduate hasn’t officially run the 40-yard dash yet, but he said in high school his coach clocked him at 4.37 seconds.

“But, that was my own coach, so he may have given me a little bit,” he said.

Several players think he is one of the fastest players on the team.

Hunter said he is the fastest, while others would like to see a race between the team’s speedsters.

“I don’t think he’s the fastest,” senior wide receiver Duwyce Wilson said. “We have a freshman who’s pretty blazing fast (LaRay Smith). And between Nick and (junior wide receiver) Shane Wynn, I don’t know. So, he’s probably top three.”

Unlike other players, Stoner’s speed translates well onto the turf, co-offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said.

“The thing I’ve always said about Nick is he plays as fast as he is,” Johns said. “Some guys have the track speed, but it doesn’t always translate onto the football field.”

Between football and track, Stoner said he doesn’t have a lot of free time, especially in the spring when he has practice for both.

“We definitely have respect for him,” Hunter said. “The commitment to football is extremely tough. And, also, add another sport to that? That’s tough.”

Due to three receivers ahead of him, Stoner does not see much time on the field.
Junior Cody Latimer, senior Kofi Hughes and Wynn are some of the conference’s best.

But Stoner takes advantage of any playing time he gets, even if it’s on the special teams unit.

Last week in IU’s victory against Penn State, Stoner was named one of the special team players of the game by IU Coach Kevin Wilson.

So far this season, Stoner has nine catches for 167 yards and a touchdown. Despite averaging less than 35 receiving yards per game, he isn’t looking for more playing time.

“I’m not that kind of guy that’s like, ‘I want to be in more,’” Stoner said. “I just want the team to succeed.”

Besides everything he does on the field, Hunter said Stoner’s athletic prowess expands to dancing, too.

“The kid’s got moves,” Hunter said. “He’s one of the best dancers on the team.”

When asked to expand, Hunter was unsure of whether to reveal such intimate details about his friend.

“I don’t know if I should have added that,” Hunter said. “He might like it or he might not. But, he’s one of the best on the team.”

Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.