Son of Gamecock assistant carves out big role on offense for Dutch Fork football
Dutch Fork football has a longstanding tradition of letting its seniors speak after practice in the week leading up to a state championship game.
On Monday, Stone Furrey was one of those seniors who spoke. Furrey doesn’t have the long history of playing with the program that most of the team’s 40 seniors have. He’s in his first year at Dutch Fork after transferring from Chapin.
But it’s still been a meaningful year for Furrey, the son of USC Gamecocks receivers coach Mike Furrey.
“I didn’t have a whole lot to say, because I just got here,” Furrey said about his Monday post-practice remarks. “But I am glad I got to talk to them, tell them my story and how much of a blessing it is to play for head coach Tom Knotts under his legacy.
“We are playing for a state championship Saturday and I can’t wait. It is the first time for me. … I think it is so cool to go out there Saturday, play with these guys and hopefully get a ring.”
Furrey is the Silver Foxes’ leading receiver and deep-play threat heading into Saturday’s Class 5A Division I state championship game against Summerville (7:30 p.m. Saturday). He has 38 catches for 688 yards and five touchdowns despite being bothered by a knee injury that forced him to miss the team’s playoff opener against Boiling Springs. He was limited in the second-round game against Byrnes.
Furrey was able to build chemistry this season with new Dutch Fork quarterback Jaxon Knotts. The two stayed after practice during the summer, working on the plays and getting acclimated to the Silver Foxes’ offense.
Putting in extra work is nothing new for Furrey and something he learned from his father, who went from undrafted free agent in the NFL to leading the NFC in receptions for the 1998 season with the Detroit Lions.
Mike Furrey played five seasons in the NFL before concussion-related symptoms ended his playing career in 2010. Because of that, he didn’t push his son into football and told The State at USC’s 2025 media day that he thought his son would be a basketball or baseball player.
Stone wanted to play football, though his family didn’t allow him to start until he was in the eighth grade. The father and son have forged a bond together over the sport, especially their offseason workouts.
Stone recalled the 6 a.m. offseason workouts early in his high school career when he was playing at Gaffney and his dad was the head coach at Limestone University. This summer, those father-son workouts moved to the evening.
“Last couple years, I kind of started getting more involved in the offseason with him, pushing him a little bit,” Mike Furrey said in July. “ ... And part of that is training where you put them in situations where they have to fight through things and push them through things they might not want to do and make them mentally tough. Those are things we worked on this offseason.”
Stone credits the offseason workouts with his father in helping him with the success he’s had over the past two years. Stone Furrey’s hard work was rewarded when he was chosen to play in next week’s Touchstone Energy Bowl in Myrtle Beach.
Furrey’s speed is evident. He ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at a South Carolina camp this summer. He is getting college interest, including offers this spring from Gardner-Webb, Murray State and East Tennessee State, and other interest from Marshall and Liberty.
South Carolina could be an option eventually, but the Gamecocks haven’t offered yet.
“I would love to go play for my dad, too,” Stone said. “... He is my biggest role model and I love to see how he carries himself. I think it is so cool how he builds relationships with the players. They are like family to us. They come over and hang out with us. So it has been a blessing to be around football as much as I have.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 9:59 AM.
