Oklahoma's Jayden Jackson Had Strong Words To Say About David Stone

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Oklahoma defensive tackle Jayden Jackson had some strong words for his teammate David Stone at Football Media Day.

When asked about Stone, Jackson didn’t just talk about production on the field. He focused on the consistency and character that make Stone stand out in the locker room.

Jackson stated, "The most special thing about him is that he's never satisfied. He's always been hungry and he's the same person every single day. It's a lot of things you don't see off the field, like the way he wants to pour into his community as well. That's a great thing to see. Just seeing him grow as a person has been amazing. That's my brother."

Calling someone your brother in this setting isn’t something players throw around lightly. Jackson sees the daily habits and the off-field side of Stone that fans don’t always get to hear about. The hunger and refusal to get comfortable are the traits that usually separate good players from the ones who keep climbing.

Stone enters the 2026 season with some of the highest expectations of any defensive player in the country. Many draft analysts already project him as a potential top-10 pick in next April’s NFL Draft.

Last season he backed up that hype with strong production. According to Pro Football Focus, Stone earned an overall grade of 76.4, which ranked him No. 31 among all college football players. His run defense grade sat at 80.7, and he posted a 13.0 percent run-stop rate — the second-highest mark among all FBS interior defensive linemen. He also recorded 26 quarterback pressures, tied for third among SEC defensive tackles.

One number that stands out is how often he was on the field rushing the passer. Stone actually led the entire Oklahoma defense in total pass-rush snaps last season. That’s a heavy workload for an interior lineman, and it shows how much trust the coaching staff has in him.

He was recently named a preseason Second Team All-American by Walter Camp, another sign of the national respect he’s earned.

For Oklahoma’s defense to take another step, Stone will be asked to do a lot again. He’s the kind of player who can disrupt both the run and the pass, which forces offenses to account for him on every snap. When an interior defender commands that kind of attention, it opens things up for the edge players and linebackers around him.

Taylor Wein, PJ Adebawore, and the rest of the front stand to benefit if Stone continues to draw double teams and collapse pockets.

Jackson’s comments also highlight the culture piece. Brent Venables’ defenses have always been built on toughness and consistency, and Stone seems to embody that. Showing up the same way every day, staying hungry, and still finding time to pour into the community are the things that tend to rub off on younger players. Jackson clearly respects that side of him as much as the production.

The Sooners’ defensive line is one of the strengths of this roster. Having a player with Stone’s combination of talent and mindset in the middle gives the whole unit a different edge.

Jackson seeing the growth in him as a person, not just as a player, speaks to the kind of leadership that can hold a defense together through a long season.

Stone has a strong track record of playing at a high level, and that is expected to continue in 2026. The next step is doing it again with even more attention on him. If he stays as locked in as Jackson described, Oklahoma’s defense should once again be one of the toughest groups in the country to move the ball against.

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