It was a bruising week for David Stone, but the Oklahoma defensive tackle still found a way to get back on the field.
Stone had just put together one of the best games of his young Oklahoma career against New Mexico, finishing with a career-high eight tackles and two tackles for loss. Then, two days later, everything changed. In the first practice of the week, Stone injured his knee in a frightening moment that left him unsure whether he’d ever play football again.
“It was scary,” Stone said, reminiscing about the event. “I remember hitting the ground, and it felt like time froze.
Honestly, I remember looking around and see my teammates, and they’re all staring at me, and I look down at my legs, and I feel it. My knee cap was in my quad almost… I was in so much shock.
I was like, I can't cry in front of my team mates.”
He left practice right away for an MRI, and the tests showed no significant structural damage. The diagnosis still included a dislocated kneecap, a bone bruise and a few strained ligaments, but Stone saw a path forward.
“I just knew that if I had a chance to play that, I was gonna play,” Stone said. “Like that was in my head, like whether or not I had something torn or anything like that, but I just wanted to be out there for my guys.”
From there, he spent the rest of the week working without pads and without contact, soaking up coaching points, studying the scheme and doing everything he could to be ready if his number got called. By Saturday, he was wrapped in a knee sleeve and brace and jogging out of the tunnel with Oklahoma for the SEC opener at Georgia. It was the first time he had worn pads all week.
No, the scoreboard didn’t break Oklahoma’s way in Athens. No.
2 Georgia rolled to a 41-13 win over the Sooners. But Stone still logged two solo tackles in the loss, giving Oklahoma something to hang onto as it moves forward from a 2-2 start and a 0-1 mark in SEC play.
More than anything, Stone’s return underscored what he means to the Sooners’ defensive front: a player willing to push through a scary setback and get back out there for his teammates.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Made A Venables Decision Fans May Regret Fast
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The timing is what makes the decision feel so loaded. If Oklahoma stumbles into a losing season, the contract becomes more than a vote of confidence - it turns into a financial commitment that would make any midstream reset far more complicated, and far more expensive, than it would have been before the extension. [Read more 🡒]
Porter Mosers Staff Just Added A Familiar Face And A Key Role
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For Oklahoma, the Greenman hire brings another basketball voice into the room, while Godwins return adds a familiar face with a direct connection to the program. Former Sooners players often bring a useful blend of institutional memory and practical support when they come back in off the floor, and Godwin steps into a role that can matter just as much behind the scenes. It is the kind of staff tweak that does not grab headlines for long, but can say plenty about how Moser wants the operation to function. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Fans May Not Like What This Bye Week Really Means
The bye week arrives with Oklahoma at 2-2 and searching for answers on an offense that has looked too uneven to trust. Brent Venables has been clear that the pieces are there for improvement, but the Sooners have not yet put it together, and the issues go well beyond a simple tweak in the playbook. Ben Arbuckle's plan against Georgia showed some signs of life, yet turnovers and shaky offensive line play kept it from turning into anything sustainable.
For Oklahoma, this pause is less about resting up and more about confronting the uncomfortable realities that have slowed the season. The quarterback room is still learning on the job, and the line has not consistently protected the passer or created room in the run game, which leaves the offense fighting uphill on nearly every series. A bye week can help clean up details, but it can only do so much when the larger problems are still sitting there in plain view. [Read more 🡒]