It feels impossible to keep Derek Stingley Jr. out of the headlines these days.
Just earlier this week, 225 Daily ran a feature story from our Tiger Pride edition about the cornerback anchoring LSU’s defense alongside rising star Elias Ricks. And as the week continued, Stingley kept turning heads while the Tigers progressed through fall camp.
The news started with the Dunham School announcing it would be retiring Stingley’s No. 24 jersey, which he wore for the four years of his high school career. He’ll be just the third player in school history to have his number retired by the school, joining former standouts Todd Kinchen and Sean Cangelosi.
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Stingley racked up nearly every accolade a prep athlete can during his time at Dunham, ranking as a five-star prospect and one of the highest recruits LSU ever landed.
He was a finalist for the 2018-19 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year while being named Louisiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018, acting as a Mr. Everything for the Tigers.
As a senior, he had four interceptions—one returned for a touchdown—but his impact didn’t stop on defense. Offensively, Stingley snagged 24 catches for 678 yards and 8 touchdowns, while rushing for 192 yards and 4 more scores.
Tiger fans are hoping that won’t be the last time the star athlete features on offense, and Ed Orgeron teased that their wishes just may come true.
“We were gonna do it this week,” Orgeron said in his weekly press conference when asked about Stingley working with the offense. “In fact, we were gonna do it the day he got a minor injury. And I talked to (offensive coordinator) Jake (Peetz), and I talked to Derek about the type of plays we were gonna run. We’re gonna see where we are next week. I don’t know if he’s gonna be full-speed next week. Obviously, I’m not gonna play him both ways if he’s not full-speed. We have to play that by ear.”
With all the hype that’s already been built around Stingley, adding him into the mix on offense might be the bump he needs to be seriously considered in the Heisman race.
Former Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson is the only defensive player to have ever won the prestigious honor, and he did so while also serving as the Wolverines’ kick returner and occasionally wide receiver. Former LSU standout Tyrann Mathieu finished fifth in the voting back in 2011, and many thought his lack of offensive snaps is what held him back from taking the trophy.
But even if Stingley never takes an offensive snap, he’ll still be one of the biggest names in Baton Rouge. The Capital City native capped his week off by adding yet another NIL sponsorship to his name, this time collaborating with Jimmy Granger’s Ford.
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Stingley has already publicly announced partnerships with both Walk-On’s and Raising Cane’s, and there could certainly be even more in the works as student-athletes can finally capitalize on their name, image and likeness.
There’s still much of Stingley’s story that’s yet to be written, but it’s safe to say a lot of it will be in big, bright letters.