Brent Venables has Oklahoma pointed toward its SEC opener after a 14-6 win over New Mexico on September 19. The Sooners are 2-1 and heading to Athens to face No. 2 Georgia. The defense did most of the work in their last win in a low-scoring game. Then a concerning update during practice had everyone talking. 

Junior defensive tackle David Stone suffered a dislocated left knee during Monday’s practice on September 21. George Stoia of Sooner Scoop and Pete Nakos of On3 first reported that Stone left with a lower-body injury and would need more tests. ESPN’s Pete Thamel later said Stone was scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday morning.

The initial concern was that Stone could miss the rest of the season. As of now, MRI results were still pending. His availability for the rest of the year remained unknown. He is expected to miss at least Saturday’s game at Georgia.

A source said Stone was working around a goal-line package when he went down. That raised many questions because Stone is a defensive tackle. An OU spokesman later clarified that the injury did not occur while Stone was playing offense. Sooner Scoop reporters, citing multiple sources, said the same. 

That news came two days after Stone’s best game as a Sooner. He had a career-high eight tackles against New Mexico, with 2.0 tackles for loss and a half-sack. Stone stuffed New Mexico running back Scottre Humphrey on fourth-and-1 with 2:58 left. That stop helped Oklahoma hold on.

“I knew we needed it and they were getting really close to the end zone and the game’s on the line,” Stone said after the win. Through three games this year, he had 12 tackles, six solo, six assisted, 2.0 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sack.

Stone was not just another interior lineman coming into 2026. He was a preseason All-American and a preseason All-SEC second-team pick. He was also voted as a team captain. Multiple outlets projected him as a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. He enrolled at Oklahoma in January 2024.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid had him 15th overall in one mock. PFF ranked him No. 31 among all college players. A long absence would cut into the SEC starting tape teams wanted to see. 

As a freshman in 2024, he played all 13 games and recorded 6 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and his first sack. In 2025, he played all 13 games again, with 42 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 26 pressures. PFF credited him with a 13 percent run-stop rate, second among FBS interior linemen. 

He missed most of spring 2026 in a boot and did not play in the spring game. Venables said then that Stone “won’t play much at all this spring.” That was framed as a precaution, and he was cleared for the regular season. Until Monday, he had not missed a regular-season game at Oklahoma.

If Stone cannot play, the snaps have to go somewhere.

Georgia week leaves Oklahoma searching for a new interior mix

Oklahoma’s next game is on September 26 against No. 2 Georgia at Sanford Stadium. Georgia is 3-0. The two teams have met only once, in the 2018 Rose Bowl, when Georgia won 54-48. 

Jayden Jackson remains the other starting tackle. He has 14 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss this season. In 2025, Stone and Jackson combined for 70 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. Oklahoma led the SEC with 26 tackles for loss through three weeks.

The likely committee behind Jackson includes Bishop Thomas, Braxton Fely, Trent Wilson, Nigel Smith II, and Danny Saili. Thomas and Fely are the names most often listed first for extra snaps.

Thomas is a transfer from Georgia State who also spent time at Florida State and Colorado. He has played all three games and about 45 snaps, including 19 against New Mexico. He has five tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, and 0.5 sack this year. 

Fely is a fifth-year transfer from Boise State. He started all 14 games there in 2025 and had 24 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. He has only a handful of snaps for Oklahoma so far, including four against New Mexico.