Blatant Homerism: Oklahoma already had a stud defensive tackle
Last week’s news that defensive tackle David Stone had entered his name into the transfer portal sent fans of the Oklahoma Sooners into a tizzy. Not surprisingly, his decision 48 hours later to return to OU was met with much rejoicing among Sooner Nation.
Stone represented the kind of player who seemed off-limits to OU for too long. Elite defensive tackles separated teams in the SEC from the rest of college football, and the Sooners hadn’t landed an interior prospect as acclaimed as Stone in decades. When he signed with OU as a five-star recruit in the 2024 class, OU’s move to a new conference appeared to be paying dividends. It also showed that head coach Brent Venables and his staff were capitalizing on their track record of developing defensive players for the NFL.
So you can understand why keeping Stone in the fold would matter so much to Venables and defensive line coach Todd Bates. But let’s not let the residual hype from Stone’s recruitment overshadow the fact OU had already retained a defensive tackle who had a remarkable rookie year on the field.
While the major recruiting services all ranked Stone as one of the top DTs and prospects in the entire country in ‘24, his teammate at IMG Academy, Jayden Jackson, was generally seen as something closer to a top 300 player. Both signed with OU: Stone profiled as a budding star; Jackson looked like the kind of recruit who could develop into a solid contributor down the line.
The perception of the two players quickly flipped last year once they stepped on campus in Norman. Jackson emerged from spring practice as a likely starter on the DL. Meanwhile, Stone looked like he still needed to marinate in the weight room.
Indeed, for a freshman, Jackson ultimately had a stellar season at his position. The table above includes the seven true freshman DTs across college football who played at least 300 snaps in 2024, per PFF. According to PFF, Jackson played 387 of OU’s 872 total snaps on defense in 13 games last season, the third-most on OU’s team behind Damonic Williams and Gracen Halton and the fifth-most of any freshman defensive tackle in the country. Moreover, Jackson got all those reps on a defense that finished the year 17th overall in Defensive SP+, while the four frosh DTs with more snaps than Jackson in ‘24 all played on units that ranked no better than 81st.
In other words, Jackson at minimum played an integral role as a freshman for what was one of the better defenses in the country. Stone’s performance, on the other hand, resembles a typical developmental season for a freshman DT. He appeared in every game of the ‘24 season, playing 94 out of OU’s 872 total snaps on defense. That put him fifth among OU’s interior DLs last year – about 225 plays behind Da’Jon Terry in fourth place.
Freshman DTs typically need time to mature, so Stone’s meager contributions last season don’t stand on their own as some indictment of his potential. Venables and Bates apparently haven’t soured on Stone, either.
However, the reality is that if Stone was the highest of priorities in the ‘24 recruiting cycle, retaining Jackson after his breakout freshman season topped that list for OU on the DL 12 months later. Jackson apparently saw his pay go up after the season as a result. Shifting priorities require shifting resources, too.
Hopefully, Stone becomes more than enough of a factor in the trenches this season to justify all this drama. Fortunately for the Sooners, it looks like they already have one sophomore stud locked up at DT.
Picks and Recs: Sphere
Dead & Company at Sphere in Las Vegas (April 17, 2025)
I recently got a chance to check out the Dead & Company residency at Sphere in Las Vegas. I don’t consider myself a Deadhead, so I might not have appreciated the music as much as the superfans who made up most of the audience. Even so, the Sphere’s immersive experience absolutely lived up to the hype.
A word of warning: More so than other venues, how a show at Sphere hits seems to vary greatly based on where you are inside it. The general admission section for standing by the stage provides great access to the band performing, for instance, but the full experience with the monstrous screen behind them is all but lost. Likewise, some of the closer seating areas actually have obstructed views - good if you’re looking for a bargain on tickets, not so good if you want the real deal. If possible, shoot for seats in the middle sections of the 300 and 400 levels. (The image above came from section 404.)
A second word of warning: If you’re one of the throngs of geriatric hippies dropping acid at these shows, you’re taking your life into your hands. The incline of the seating is wicked – vertigo-inducingly so. I witnessed some nasty spills.
All in all, it seems like a show at Sphere is ideally suited to bands with plenty of lore behind them, which fits the acts that have performed there to this point – the Dead, U2, Eagles, Phish. If you have a favorite band or performer with a deep catalogue, it’s worth the pilgrimage to Sin City.