Oklahoma's Defensive Tackles Played a Key Role in the Sooners' Resurgent Season

The Sooners on SI 2025 report card series continues with Todd Bates' talented group on the interior of OU's defensive line.

Oklahoma defensive lineman David Stone competes against Alabama in the CFP. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

With Oklahoma’s 2025 season fully in the rearview, Sooners on SI is handing out position-by-position grades for every area of the team, continuing today with the defensive tackles.

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While there were other standout performances across Brent Venables’ defense in 2025, Oklahoma’s defensive tackles were the heart and soul of the Sooners’ dominant unit. 

Gracen Halton starred as the veteran leader, joined by Damonic Williams, and sophomores David Stone and Jayden Jackson dominated to form a dominant rotation. 

Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton sacks South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

The defensive tackles were so good that Jackson played the late portion of the season banged up, yet there was still little success to be had up the middle of Oklahoma’s defense. 

Stone finished seventh on the team with 43 total tackles and Halton added 33 tackles, but OU’s leading tacklers being linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke illustrate how much easier the defensive tackles made life for everyone else. 

Halton was graded as the No. 1 interior defensive lineman in the entire SEC per Pro Football Focus and Stone was rated the No. 9 defensive tackle in the conference among players who played at least 100 snaps. Jackson was also rated as the No. 29 defensive tackle in the league, which again speaks to the strength of Todd Bates’ position group. 

The Sooners allowed 77.3 rushing yards per game in 2025, which is rated second in the country ahead of the quarterfinal contests in the College Football Playoff. 

OU also finished No. 1 in the nation with 9.4 tackles per loss per game and No. 1 with 3.46 team sacks per game, totals that were again made possible by the Dog Pound up front. 

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Read More OU 2025 Report Cards

• Offensive Line
• Defensive Ends

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Halton set a new career-high in tackles and tackles for loss (7.0), while finishing with 3.5 sacks after his five-sack showing in 2024. Halton also forced a fumble and returned a fumble for a touchdown. 

After primarily playing a role on special teams and as a deep rotational piece in 2024, Stone took a major step forward. 

His eight tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks saw the former 5-star recruit begin to live up to his hefty high school billing. 

Williams added 27 tackles, a step back from his career-best 35 total tackles last year, but he still had 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. 

Jackson finished with 28 tackles and set career-highs in tackles for loss (5.0) and sacks (3.0) despite playing through a lower-body injury through much of November. 

Stone and Jackson will step into even larger roles in 2026, but they are well-schooled on what a highly effective defensive tackle group looks like thanks to the leadership of Halton and Williams in 2025.