Oklahoma DL David Stone withdraws name from NCAA Transfer Portal

Former Five-Star Plus+ prospect and Oklahoma defensive lineman David Stone has withdrawn from the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Pete Nakos has confirmed. He does so after a very brief entry.

Stone formally entered the NCAA transfer portal on April 18. He had entered after appearing in all 13 games for the Sooners in 2024.

Had he remained in the transfer portal, he would have been unable to transfer to an SEC school without sitting out a year. So his options were a bit limited in the Spring transfer window, something that may have factored into his decision to withdraw.

During his freshman season with Oklahoma, David Stone totaled six tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. He showed a lot of promise, which you’d expect given his stature coming out of high school.

Stone is an Oklahoma City native, but played high school football at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, where he was a Five Star Plus+ recruit – meaning he was one of the only players ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five star. He was the No. 9 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

David Stone was the headliner of Oklahoma’s 2024 recruiting class, coming in as the only five-star of the group. His loss would have been a significant one for the Sooners, who just completed spring practice ahead of their second year in the SEC.

As he got ready for his sophomore season, Stone said one of his main focuses was balancing life on and off the football field. By doing so, he’d be able to separate the two and lock in once he put on his helmet and pads.

“I feel like for myself, I had a big issue with being able to let my life outside of football affect my football,” David Stone said. “I dominated a lot of the team settings and stuff like that, but sometimes outside of that I could let my body language get bad because of stuff I had going on outside of football, whether it be grades or something. As a player, I had to learn how to compartmentalize those things, separate the two and handle the pressure of outside life with football.” 

The spring transfer portal window officially opened April 16, marking the second such window of the offseason. Players will be allowed to officially enter the portal until it closes April 25.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.