Legendary Oklahoma DL Gerald McCoy Wants to see David Stone Take Next Step in 2026

Gerald McCoy is widely considered one of the best defensive linemen in Oklahoma history.

McCoy spent four years in Norman, earning First Team All-American honors twice. He finished his collegiate career with 83 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks over 40 starts at defensive tackle before enjoying a lengthy, accomplished NFL career.

Even though McCoy hasn’t played for the Sooners since 2009, he still regularly keeps up with OU football. And the legendary OU defensive lineman thinks incoming junior David Stone has the potential to become elite in 2026.

“I'm excited to see if he takes that next step,” McCoy said in quotes provided to Sooners On SI by NFL insider Kyle Odegard.

Stone enrolled at Oklahoma as a 5-star prospect in 2024. He appeared in all 13 of the Sooners’ games as a true freshman, but his production was minimal — he finished the year with only six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

But in 2025, Stone flashed his first-round potential. The defensive tackle registered 42 total tackles, 16 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup.

McCoy draws plenty of parallels between his first couple of years in Norman and Stone’s.

Like Stone, McCoy was a blue-chip prospect, ranked as the No. 4 overall recruit in the Class of 2006 by Rivals. He sat out of his first collegiate season and used his redshirt before earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2007.

McCoy made his biggest jump during Year 3 of his college career.

He logged 30 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, helping him take home All-American honors for the first time.

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McCoy believes that the third year of college football is normally the season in which defensive linemen see the most growth.

“It's like, 'Alright, I've gotten all the practice in, the traveling, the workouts and everything out of the way — now it's go time,” McCoy said. “You get to a point where it's like, 'Nobody out there can do nothing with me.' I remember my mentor, (former OU defensive lineman) Tommie Harris, told me he felt that way in his third year."

McCoy is well aware that Stone is already a quality defensive lineman. Stone will start on the interior of OU’s line alongside Jayden Jackson, giving the Sooners one of college football’s most feared defensive fronts.

Even so, Stone still has so much untapped potential.

Stone is widely regarded as a future first-round pick, and it’s possible that he could even earn a top-10 selection. Between his 6-3, 315-pound frame and his improvement in 2025, Stone seems like he’s on his way to stardom.

But he’ll need to do even more in Year 3 at Oklahoma to fully assert himself as a “can’t-miss” prospect.

“That's a really good defensive lineman,” McCoy said. “Now, can he cross over that threshold into dominance? There's a difference in playing really well and dominating. I believe he has the ability to dominate. I just want to see if he takes that next step."

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