Defensive tackle recruiting has become nearly as important as quarterback recruiting at the collegiate level. And there’s an argument to be made that elite defensive tackles are far more scarce than quarterbacks. That’s why [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag], and the Oklahoma Sooners defensive staff have found themselves in a number of big-time recruiting battles over the last several years.
The Sooners were better at defensive tackle in 2023, but the depth is so much better heading into 2024 because of a trio of additions.
Before [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] became the most high-profile recruitment in the spring transfer portal window, the Oklahoma Sooners spent the 2024 recruiting cycle in several more high-profile defensive tackle recruiting battles. [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag] were huge gets for Venables and Bates, landing the IMG Academy duo to anchor their defensive line of the future. But the future could be now for Stone and Jackson.
In just a short time, Damonic Williams has come away impressed with what Stone and Jackson are able to do on a football field. He met with the media on Thursday and glowed when asked about David Stone and Jayden Jackson.
Williams said of his freshmen teammates, “They’re just doing a lot of things that veterans can do. And it’s just like, me and them, we still have to learn the playbook and things like that. But it’s just seeing the skill level and the talent that they have at such an early age is amazing.”
The Sooners are deeper at defensive tackle than they’ve been at any point in the Venables era but Jackson and Stone will have an opportunity to earn a role this fall. Their talent, physicality, and toughness is what made them two of the more highly sought after prospects in the 2024 recruiting class.
They were dominant at the high school level and while defensive tackle is a difficult position to make the jump from high school to college and college to the NFL, David Stone and Jayden Jackson have the right mentality and have put in the work to be impact players. And if a guy as talented as Damonic Williams has come away impressed already, that impact should come sooner rather than later.
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