Oklahoma Sooners breakout defender named one of the best in college football this season and he deserves all the praise
Oklahoma Sooners defensive tackle David Stone earns a well-deserved recognition for his elite play this season.
Entering the 2025 season, the Oklahoma Sooners knew they were going to boast an elite defensive line. They returned virtually all of their talent from 2024 and added another impact player in Marvin Jones Jr. To go from an elite unit to the best defensive line in college football, however, they needed a key step forward from one of their top players up front in former five-star David Stone. So far in 2025, they’ve gotten everything they wanted and more.
Stone has transformed into a complete game-wrecker for Oklahoma this season, going from limited snaps in a rotation to the top dog in the room. He leads the Sooners’ defensive tackles in pressures, sacks, pass rush win rate, and is tied for first place on the entire defense in run stops, boasting a run stop percentage of 18.6%. Additionally, Stone also leads all SEC defensive tackles in pressures, is tied for fourth in sacks, and is sixth in pass rush win rate. He’s doing all of this, mind you, while still rotating in a deep room. He’s not playing every down .
Even with all of these accomplishments, his film is remarkably even better than that. It’s no surprise that his dominance has caught the eye of the national media, leading to CBS naming Stone a Midseason All-American this week.
David Stone Priming His NFL Draft Stock
Stone is still a sophomore, but he is already turning heads in the NFL world with his level of play. I spoke to an NFL scout about Stone ahead of this article. Said scout told me that he would not be shocked if Stone was right at or near the top of everyone’s draft boards next offseason as one of the best prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft if he keeps up this level of play.
Oklahoma has had some excellent defenders in recent years with players like Nik Bonitto, Ronnie Perkins, Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman, and even currently R Mason Thomas. However, they haven’t had a defensive prospect with this type of NFL buzz since Gerald McCoy went third overall in the 2010 NFL Draft.
McCoy is rare air for any player, but that’s the level of dominance we are talking about for Stone. The Sooners simply have not had a defensive lineman be this dominant ever since. Stone is simply wrecking entire gameplans up front whenever he takes the field, and he’s already drawing the eye of scouts across the country. Opposing coaches have done everything they can to limit him this season, but he’s still wrecking shop up front.
There’s still plenty of games left in the season, but Stone’s level of play up to this season deserves to be recognized and is a significant factor behind Oklahoma’s defensive dominance. If this keeps up, we are talking some rare status for the Sooners’ defensive tackle.
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