David Stone has no doubt had an impactful high school journey that’s kept the entire college football landscape watching his every move.
Stone was a top prospect the day he stepped onto Del City’s football field four years ago. He was a 6-foot-4, 250-pound freshman with all of the potential anyone could ask for. He tallied 19 tackles, eight for loss and one sack in six games for the Eagles. In his sophomore season, Stone’s production surged to 47 tackles (16 for loss) and nine sacks. Since then, he’s only moved up in the ranks and became a top talent at one of the toughest programs to do it at, IMG Academy.
In his junior season, Stone finished with 50 tackles (18 for loss) and five sacks to help IMG Academy to an 8-1 record. It was there that he became a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 9 overall player in the class.
“You’re looking at, if he were here in the state, whether it’s Devon (Jordan) or Xavier Robinson, David would be competing for the No. 1 player in the state,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said at his press conference on Wednesday.
On what can be called a dramatic decision day, Stone hadn’t given an inkling on where he might commit to. But during halftime of his high school football game, Stone threw out the Miami rumors, threw on a Sooners hat, and declared he was coming home.
Stone is the top prospect in the Sooners top-10 2024 class. Since his commitment, he’s shown he’s a guy with a lot of pull for other recruits and that he can be a leader at the next level. So, when he signed with the Sooners on Wednesday, it gave Oklahoma the centerpiece player it needs as it gears up for the new-look SEC conference.
Stone will bring alongside him four-star IMG Academy nose tackle Jayden Jackson. The two have long spoken about playing together at the next level. That will happen in Stone’s home state, where he’ll also get to play alongside his best friend, three-star safety Mykel Patterson-McDonald.
“David is tremendously talented, but he has a lot of the right stuff that you want,” Venables said of Stone. “Everybody loves David that has met David. He’s got really endearing leadership qualities to him. He’s humble, hard-working, tough, really smart, articulate … he’s a leader of young men. Players follow him. The uniqueness is that it’s over a two-year relationship with he and his family. You love that, being a relationship-driven program. You want it to be about that. This is a forever decision for each and every one of these young men. For David, it’s probably one of the longest relationships that we’ve had. He is a great leader. Guys will follow him. He’s got tremendous respect, both in high school football and in the recruiting circles. You’ve going to have some influence there along the way.”
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