When asked about the sophomore cornerback out of Eastside High Schol in Covington, Smart was quick to praise his work ethic:
 
 

He has gotten a lot better (nodding for emphasis). I’ll tell you what is unique about him, everybody knows his speed – and he was not very highly recruited – and he’s a great case of a kid we had in camp that was raw, fast, but raw, and I thought, ‘Man I don’t know if this kid is going to be able to develop. He has never really played corner.’ It wasn’t natural for him. Coach Tucker has done a helluva job developing him. And to his own right, he listens in the meeting, he takes notes in the meeting, he learns in the meeting, he carries over what he is taught and you see him do things he has been taught on the field and not a lot of corners have done that. He has made himself a better player.
 
Is he the starter? I don’t know yet but he has had a good camp.

 
 
Kirby remarks about Stokes begin at the 05:46 mark in the video below: