Harding High names its new football coach, and he’s from the West Coast
Harding High’s new football coach, JT Stone, has come a long way to take his second head position.
Stone, who turns 46 next month, announced in August that he would step down as head coach at Santa Barbara High School in California, and then — as he describes it — took a “leap of faith” to move his family to Charlotte. Stone coached the 2022 season on the West Coast, which ended with a 9-2 record and a playoff berth, and sent his wife and three kids to North Carolina.
He got to town last month.
“We always loved the city,” Stone said. “My wife works remotely and it’s a leap of faith but at some point we were going to get here.”
Several news reports that appeared after Stone’s decision to resign described him as a “popular football coach,” and running back Nathan Barrios said he became emotional when Stone told his old team the news.
“It made me very sad,” Barrios told a local Santa Barbara-area TV station. “A tear fell out of my eye.”
Santa Barbara was 4-6 in 2015 when Stone took over the program and the school had produced just one winning season in seven years. Under Stone, Santa Barbara went 56-26 and had five straight winning seasons, including an 11-3 campaign in the 2019 season. That year, Stone was named the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table high school coach of the year after leading his team to an appearance in the Division 8 CIF Southern Section playoff championship.
A passion for children
Harding principal Glenn Starnes said there were 30 applicants for the position with five advancing to the final round of interviews. Starnes said a few things stuck out about Stone during the interview process.
“It was definitely his record and previous head coaching experience, which were extremely solid, but it was also his passion for children,” Starnes said. “Santa Barbara High School is no Harding University, but I’m able to see and hear passion from someone’s heart, and his desire to come in and build a program, JV and varsity — that was important to us. And that he moved his family here spoke a lot in regards to his commitment and a long-term plan.”
Starnes knows the road ahead will be tough for Stone, who becomes the school’s fourth coach in six years.
Sam Greiner, now the coach at rival West Charlotte, led Harding to an improbable state championship in 2017. But since going 6-6 in 2007, Harding has had just two winning seasons, including the memorable title run.
And since celebrating the state title in 2017, Harding has gone 13-36. The Rams, however, will move down from the state’s most competitive class, 4A, to 3A next season.
“Harding is at a very pivotal place right now,” Starnes said. “Coming from 4A and being approved to be a 3A school moving forward is a big deal. We’ve just hired a new boys’ basketball coach, Ben Brickhouse, last spring, and it’s important to me as a principal and to (athletic director) Oscar (Walker) that we have a chance to come up ... to do what it takes to be competitive on the field and in the classroom. (Stone) spoke about how important academics are.
“And I know he’s not from the Charlotte area, and for some, that requires a second look, like ‘Harding brought somebody here from California?’ But we were very intentional in our search. We think we have the right guy and he’s hiring assistants who are Charlotte natives.”
A family of athletes
Stone comes from an athletic family. He played quarterback in high school and at Division II West Texas A&M. One brother, Jason, played at basketball at San Diego State. Another brother, Julyan, played at Texas El-Paso and for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2017-18 season.
JT Stone would come to Charlotte to visit and fell in love with the city. As the cost of living in California began to rise, Stone and his wife, Sarina, would often talk about moving to North Carolina.
“Finally,” he said, “it was like, ‘We gotta take the risk.’ It was a better situation. California is out of control (cost-wise) and my wife green-lighted everything.”
With that, the family relocated and found a home near Mallard Creek High. Elle Stone, now a sophomore, and Jazmeen, a freshman, were considered two of the best basketball players in California in their age group, and they’ve helped Mallard Creek to a No. 2 ranking in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll. Son Devan also played basketball in California but has decided to focus on his studies.
During the family’s transition, JT Stone was looking for a football job in the area.
In California, he was known for developing quarterbacks, often at the youth level. Stone worked with eventual Stanford QB Brent Peus, Sacramento State QB Frankie Gamberdella and Wisconsin QB Deacon Hill.
In Charlotte, Stone has a more singular focus — at least for now.
Why not Harding?
Stone knows all about Harding’s athletic struggles through the years, but he thinks he has the right people around him and the right environment in place to rebuild — and rebuild pretty quickly.
“If you did it once (win a state title), I don’t see why you can’t do it again,” Stone said. “The administration is pushing for a reset and they want to build a program. A lot of coaches say, ‘JT, it’s a hard job.’ And I said, ‘Did you step on that campus and see what’s available?’ They have everything you can want to start a program. I have more at my disposal at Harding than I did at Santa Barbara. I don’t know how a coach couldn’t be successful there.”
Harding was 3-7 last season under interim coach Jeff Caldwell. The three teams the Rams beat — first-year Palisades, Berry and Garinger — were a combined 3-27. In the other seven games, the Rams were outscored 298-60.
Stone thinks the move to 3A will help, allowing Harding to play more games against schools of a more similar size. He also likens the situation at Harding to the one he encountered in Santa Barbara.
“That’s what’s crazy,” he said. “When I saw Harding’s record and everything, it reminded me of the situation from back home, a program that needed to put the pieces together. I’d rather build something than walk into something, and I’ve got (assistant) coaches ready to go. I know people use Harding as a stepping stone and I have never been about that. I could’ve left Santa Barbara several times. My plan is to be there for while.
“It’s going to take some time, but I think I’ve got the right guys on board. This is something we want to build, and why not Harding? It’s got tradition and it’s an underdog school. But, you know, we’re going to change that.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 3:23 PM.
