Louis Rams, Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints Stokes was born in Vidalia, Georgia.

As a result of his outstanding play on the field, Stokes was offered a full scholarship to play football for the newly formed Georgia Southern Eagles in Statesboro, Georgia, under the legendary leadership of coach Erk Russell.

Stokes was one of two players on his team voted First-team All-America after his senior season as an offensive tackle.

In 1987, Stokes was drafted into the National Football League where he would spend the next ten years playing defensive end for the Los Angeles/St.

After retiring from the NFL, Fred went back to his alma mater (Georgia Southern University) and completed his degree in 1998.