Entering his fifth season of the PPR, Brandon Stone will continue reporting on the City Game of the Week and hosting the Student Athlete Spotlight. This one-time intern now holds a permanent position with KUSI as a reporter.
After growing up in Santa Barbara, Stone traveled south to San Diego State where he earned a BA in Journalism with a minor in Religious Studies in 2008. He got his foot in the door after his 8am newswriting professor announced to the class that there was an opening with Paul Rudy at KUSI as an intern. "I did not even wait for class to finish," Stone says. "I think the professor made the announcement at 8:03 and I had signed up by 8:10." Stone only interned for a few months when he got the news that he would join the PPR team as a field producer. "I called up my girlfriend (now fiancée) in Santa Barbara and told her she needed to come to San Diego."
When Stone was in the 8th grade he was driving to school with his father and all of the sudden decided that he would not only be a journalist, but he would go to SDSU and have a broadcasting career in San Diego. Stone says the decision to pursue a career in sports broadcasting was something that just came to him one day, "like a message from above." Since then Stone has lived up to his word and has never looked back.
For most, the PPR stands for community, students and fun. But for Stone it represents an outfit choice he has to deal with. "The only tough thing about the show is the outfit...not a fan of the red jacket. But don't tell Paul Rudy."
When Stone is "not" wearing the red jacket for the PPR, he enjoys watching football and NASCAR, attending dueling piano shows and cooking.
Who's the best player you've seen since you've been with the PPR?
"You can put down speed spikes, sand, water, and the 32nd Fleet on a football field, but none of those things could stop Dillon Baxter from setting the field on fire back in 2009."
What gets you fired up every week to cover high school football?
"There is an undefined fuel we tap into whenever we step into a high school. We time travel back to the times of love, pain, fortune, fear, success and, failure. Every Friday night is like a melodrama, taking those feelings and running them back through a cycle. It keeps us honest. It keeps us alive. High school football is the life and breath of our creation, and I am so proud to dip into that fountain of youth each fall."
What has been your most embarrassing moment on air?
"When a show takes a bad turn, you just want to help out. But maybe next time I'll learn to not take off my suit to avoid standing on set with jeans and Nikes. Then again, maybe I won't. We'll do it live!"
Twitter: @Stone2417
