MTSU's star quarterback and wide receiver have a friendship built upon respect.


The natural ingredient for a strong rapport was laid directly in front of them: Brent Stockstill was an up-and-coming MTSU quarterback, Richie James was a soon-to-be starting wide receiver.

“As a receiver,” James said, “you’re always going to want to have a good relationship with the quarterback.”

So there was no scenario that wouldn’t end with Stockstill and James forming a bond. But now, about three years after the dynamic tandem first clicked, those around the program say their connection is something beyond what anyone could have hoped for.

“Yeah, they’re quarterback and receiver,” MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said, “but it’s more than that.”

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James also insists “it’s different,” and not just because the two have already cemented their place at or near the top of practically every MTSU record list for their respective positions.

It’s different because it’s a friendship built upon respect.

Before the spotlight

It began in the weight room.

In 2014, as freshmen, Stockstill and James took redshirt years. They watched the season transpire from the sideline, waiting for their turn.

“Especially when you’re young and not playing yet, that’s really all you have, the weight room,” Stockstil said.  

Stockstill, a star quarterback out of Siegel High in Murfreesboro, arrived at MTSU weighing just 181 pounds. James, a three-star recruit from Riverview High in Sarasota, Fla., was just 169 pounds.

There was a lot of work to be done.

“That's where it all started, in the weight room, me and him just staying in there working after everyone had gone home,” James said.

They were small, light, even scrawny — but only in comparison to what they are now.

Blue Raiders strength coach Jason Spray has photos of both transformations.” James is now 183 pounds of chiseled strength. Stockstill is now a brawny 220 pounds.

“Those two guys, they knew where they wanted to be and they showed the work ethic to get where they wanted to be,” Spray said. “It’s not just talk with them. They want to be the best, so they work to be the best.”


Camp Ability of Special Kids takes on the MTSU football players in a game of tug-of-war during football clinic. HELEN COMER/DNJ

A big factor, both said, was their willingness to push each other.

“I’d seen him working hard,” James said, "and I'd want to be just like him. He was working hard, he was staying here. He wasn’t worrying about going home.

"In the weight room, it was just like, ‘Oh, I see you’re working? I’m working, too. Let’s get it. Let’s try to build this program. Let's help each other out.’”

So began their physical transformations, and their friendship.

“I kind of gravitate toward guys that work extremely hard, that love this game,” Stockstill said, “and that’s what Richie is.”

'What makes it work'

Rick Stockstill drove to the MTSU campus one Saturday afternoon in early July to get a run in. He passed by Floyd Stadium, poked his head in and saw his son there with James. The two were alone, throwing the ball around.

No big deal.

“It happens all the time,” Rick Stockstill said. “It’s constant.”

"If Brent wants to throw, he can call Richie and knows he’d say yes. Richie wants to throw, he can call Brent and he knows he’d say yes.

“They challenge each other, they compete against each other in the weight room, and they’re always out there throwing and catching over the course of the year. And plus, I think they’ve got the same personality, the same goals off the field. They lead a very good life off the field. They take care of their bodies. They’re not out partying all the time or anything like that. They know what it takes to be great, and I think great players gravitate toward each other because of that.”

This, James said, is “what makes it work.”

“Brent just never stops working, and I respect him more than anybody because of that," James said. "And because we’re so close, he can see what I see. He can think just like me, I can think just like him. That carries onto the field.”

Constant communication

The two go out to eat on occasion, they’ll go bowling every now and then, but “it’s not one of those things where we’re hanging out all the time,” James said.

Stockstill expanded upon that a bit.

“I think we’re both to the age that we’re both getting older and we don't really leave our house except for football,” he said with a laugh.

But the communication never stops.

“We do a lot of talking off the field,” James said. “I think it helps us on the field because we're always talking off the field, in the locker room. When everyone’s gone home, we’re still here. We’re talking about things that we can do this year and what we want to do as a team.”

Even when they go home, the line of communication persists.

“We’re always texting each other,” Stockstill said, “not only about ourselves, but if we see something that a pro guy did or if I want to share a workout I saw that I think would help him on some of his speed stuff or running a route like that. And then if he sees a quarterback article, he’ll shoot it to me. That’s kind of how we’re always helping each other, just mastering our craft.

“It never ends. Late at night, it’s a text message here and there. Just always trying to help each other build our game.”

Chasing greatness together

Some college football experts have labeled the Stockstill-James combination as one of the most lethal quarterback-wide receiver tandems in the nation, let alone Conference USA.

“I think they’ll only get better together this year,” Rick Stockstill said.

James ranks second all-time in program history in receptions (213) and receiving yards (2,971). He is also fourth with 20 touchdown catches. Nationally, he ranks first among active players in catches per game (8.2) and receiving yards per game (114.3).

Stockstill is the all-time MTSU leader in touchdown passes (61), 300-yard passing games (14), 400-yard passing games (2) and passing yards per game (303.3). He ranks fourth nationally in passing yards per game and 21st in career passing yards among active players.

“The relationship we have off the field is leading to everything we’re accomplishing on the field,” Stockstill said. “I always say that the closest teams, the closest teammates are the ones that have the most success. I really just think the relationship is key to everything. We’re always on the same page. I know what he’s going to do before he even does it. And he knows exactly what I’m thinking. It just leads to everything.”

It goes back to the weight room in 2014, when the two formed a friendship built upon respect that has continued to grow with each passing season.

“Since they’re such good friends, I’m sure it means that much more to them that they can share this college experience together,” Rick Stockstill said. “When they’re 50 years old and they come down here and are inducted into the hall of fame, they can sit back and reminisce about their friendship and what this time meant to them.”