Top 20 NFL Sooners, No. 2: Gerald McCoy

After a challenging first year, Gerald McCoy bloomed into an All-American and All-Pro defensive tackle

In the past 20 years, the Oklahoma Sooners have experienced arguably their most productive era ever in the NFL Draft.

From the 2000 to 2019 drafts — the entirety of the Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley years — OU has had 95 players drafted.

Using today’s 7-round comparison, that’s more than any other two-decade era in school history. In the 1970s and ‘80s, OU had 131 players drafted, but only 88 were selected in the first seven rounds.

In the last 20 years, the Sooners have produced some historically good players. Every day leading up to this year’s NFL Draft (Thursday, Friday and Saturday), SI Sooners presents the Top 20 NFL Sooners of the last 20 years.

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Gerald McCoy in Tampa Bay / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

One look at the Oklahoma defensive line depth chart in 2006 and immediate stardom was forecast for USA Today national defensive player of the year Gerald McCoy.

OU’s front four tackles that season included Steven Coleman, Carl Pendleton, DeMarcus Granger and Cory Bennett — all good players, but not one senior among them, and hardly a mention of All-Big 12 accolades.

Yet, those four held it down — and McCoy did not play.

McCoy became a two-time All-American and the No. 3 pick in the draft and a six-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro defensive tackle. But he wasn’t good enough to crack that lineup?

What happened?

“The reason I redshirted is because – I wasn’t ready, just to be as blunt as possible,” McCoy told SI Sooners. “I wasn’t ready to play. There was a certain technique that coach (Jackie) Shipp taught that I didn’t have down pat. My confidence approaching the game wasn’t there. And if you can’t play fast and play with confidence, you can’t play college football – especially at the University of Oklahoma. So I wasn’t ready.”

McCoy was OU’s best defensive recruit since Tommie Harris in 2001. When the can’t-miss 5-star All-American signed with the Sooners, it made national headlines and set off parties in the OU staff room. Yet, it would be 2007 until he saw the field.

“But they groomed me,” McCoy said. “I practiced with the varsity, with the starters. I was on scout team for a couple weeks and then they rotated me in and prepared me as if I was gonna play every week. I traveled, was always with the team, didn’t miss anything. Had to go to the hotel on Fridays, I didn’t miss a beat. I just didn’t play. I was redshirted. And ultimately, that helped me big-time because by the time it was time to play, I was ready to rock.”

Gerald McCoy returns an interception in the 2008-09 BCS title game

And while everyone predicted great things lay ahead for McCoy, there was really only one voice he heeded: his mother, Patricia.

“My dad (Gerald Sr.) knew I had talent, but those are dads,” McCoy said. “Dads always look at their sons and say, ‘Oh yeah, he’s gonna be good, he’s gonna be this, he’s gonna be that.’ So you expect it from your dad. But when your mom tells you, it’s just a different feeling.”

But after watching her son struggle with confidence during that 2006 season, a month before he reported to training camp in 2007, Patricia McCoy died. Gerald was devastated and had no idea how to cope with such tragedy.

“It was very tough,” McCoy said. “Because my mom was always the one who had seen the dream.”

In such times, young men can crumble. McCoy did the opposite. His mother’s confidence powered him. Her influence assuaged him. And her guidance and love put him back on the path to success — in football and beyond.

“She told me I was gonna be ranked No. 1,” McCoy said. “Like, she’s saying all this: ‘You’re gonna be an All-American. You’re gonna be a first-round pick.’ These are all her words. So everything I’m doing moving forward is to not disappoint her or not let her down or not make what she said not true. So when that happened, it just took a toll on me. But ultimately, it pushed me. It drove me to make sure that what she said was possible, that what she wanted to happen for me, I made it happen.”

McCoy earned All-Big 12 freshman of the year honors in 2007, and Sporting News, College Football News and Rivals named him Freshman All-American. In 2008 and 2009, McCoy was named first-team All-American — the last Sooner defensive lineman to earn that hallmark — by collecting 64 tackles, 26 1/2 tackles for loss and 12 1/2 quarterback sacks.

Gerald McCoy and former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles

He was the third pick in the 2010 NFL Draft behind teammate Sam Bradford and Big 12 rival Ndamukong Suh, and he played nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before going to the Carolina Panthers as a free agent last year.

Living the NFL life sounds like a dream. McCoy still lives in Tampa, where he’s raising five kids in a sprawling mansion. He’s earned more than $118 million, and more is on the way with his new contract with the Dallas Cowboys.

But playing nine years for the Bucs wasn’t always a breeze. The team went 59-101 over the last decade, third-worst in the NFL ahead of Jacksonville and Cleveland. McCoy has played in 139 NFL games (139 starts), but he’s still never been to the playoffs. Then add in last year’s slap in the face when, after not resigning McCoy in free agency, they brought in Suh — and then gave him McCoy’s No. 93.

Gerald McCoy in Carolina

Last year during an interview on Fox Sports 1, McCoy expressed displeasure to “Undisputed” co-host Shannon Sharpe.

“I mean, it may seem like it’s just a number, but it's bigger than that,” McCoy said. “It’s respect, and that was a big part of the separation between me and Tampa, period, was the respect they showed to me all offseason. It just wasn't there.”

McCoy told SI Sooners last week that he was grateful for his time with the Bucs and will always have love for the franchise that gave him his start. No NFL player’s career is perfect.

“Well, it’s been ups and downs,” McCoy said. “But mostly ups. Simply because I’m living out my dream. And when you live out your dream, there’s not really much bad that can happen. Obviously you want some things to be different. You want to win a Super Bowl, you want to go to the playoffs. But you know what? Man, as you get older, you start to stop worry about stuff that – you know, stuff that matters, but then it doesn’t. You know? Like, how many people would dream to be in my shoes? To have an opportunity to play at the next level? Just to play? Just to be on a team? Just to experience training camp? Let alone be a four-time All-Pro with six Pro Bowls. You know? It’s not easy to do. And it’s been very difficult being on Tampa.

Gerald McCoy and Tom Brady

“Which, I grew up a Tampa Bay fan. I love ‘em to death. Always gonna love ‘em. Always. They changed my life. But Tampa is one of if not the losingest franchise in all of sports. So to be able to accomplish what I did with a losing record, it’s astonishing. Because you’ve got to get recognition to get in the Pro Bowl and be voted All-Pro. So the work I put in paid off. It’s just great to be recognized in my career.”

McCoy hopes his lack of playoff experience changes this year. He may have grown up a fan of the Bucs, but he’s always followed the Cowboys.

“If you grew up in Oklahoma, as you know, if you’re not a Dallas Cowboys fan or (don’t) know somebody who’s a Dallas Cowboys fan, there’s something wrong with you,” McCoy said. “At some point in your life, you rooted for the Dallas Cowboys. If you didn’t, you knew someone who did. So to grow up watching them basically being Oklahoma’s NFL team – other than OU – this is a dream come true, man. This is excellent. To play for the star? Man, Jerry Jones is a hall of famer, and he’s put together a Grade A organization. They always have a great story. You can’t say enough about the Cowboys organization.

“As far as I go, I’m coming into my last few years in the league, and that urgency to make it to the next level, as far as the playoffs goes, is at peak level. I’ve dropped 20 pounds since last season. I’m just really locked in and focused and looking forward to this upcoming season — whenever we have it.”

McCoy said he’s working on his playing technique, still perfecting his hands and feet after all these years, and he’s hitting his home gym every day.

“If you think that us being on quarantine is stopping me from training like a madman – nah,” he said. “I’m still social distancing. Not being around anybody. Not leaving the house. But there’s a little patch of grass right around the corner from my house that nobody goes to. I go there, work out, come home. I don’t go anywhere else. So I’m practicing social distancing. My family doesn’t leave. I leave, work out, come home. Then I have a gym in my house that I use.

“I have everything I need,” he said. “So nothing’s gonna stop me from being prepared to go. I want it to be like, ‘How’s this guy in this good of shape and we were in quarantine the whole time?’ That’s the kind of shock I want people to have when I show up for training camp or offseason or whatever it is.”

He’s even training three of his kids — sons Marcellus and Gerald III (“Dini”) and daughter Nevaeh. Marcellus Crutchfield actually made headlines last month when he announced he would be following in his dad’s footsteps and play for the Sooners. Dad will be down the road 2 1/2 hours in Dallas and should be able to make most OU games — home and away.

Gerald was unable to attend his son’s Senior Night in Tampa due to travel, so the guys stepped in for him.

Football is Family ♥️

(Via: @Geraldini93) pic.twitter.com/laaUQUcQDr

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 26, 2019

“It wasn’t a main factor (in signing with Dallas),” McCoy said. “I was pushing him to go to OU regardless. I didn’t know where I was gonna be playing.”

Being an all-time Sooner great is one thing. But being a Sooner dad takes it to another level.

Missed this in the craziness of yesterday — Marcellus Crutchfield committed to the #Sooners. He’s the son of Gerald McCoy. It’s safe to say @Geraldini93 was fired up. 😂 pic.twitter.com/IoKVJeHEVJ

— Nate Feken (@TheGreat_Nate) March 14, 2020

“It’s excellent, man!” McCoy said. “You know, you don’t even think about this type of stuff when you’re in college. But when you become a parent, and then you see your child has talent, you’re like, ‘Hmm. I wonder.’ And now for it to be a reality, it’s incredible, man. The reason I was pushing him to go to Oklahoma so bad is because I know the tradition. People have seen how much I love it and how much fun I’ve had there, so I just want him to experience the same thing.”

McCoy’s NFL career is actually easy to summarize. For a decade, he was one of the most consistent, reliable and dominant defensive linemen in the game. He currently ranks third among active NFL defensive tackles — behind Geno Atkins and Aaron Donald — with 59 1/2 quarterback sacks. He’s had at least five sacks for each of the last eight years. He made first- or second-team AP All-Pro in four different seasons (2012, ’13, ’14 and ’16). And he was named to NFL Network’s Top 100 players six of the last seven years, including 2019.

“Being a kid from Southside Oklahoma City that nobody knew about,” McCoy said, “then I went to the Oklahoma camp and got noticed, (Rivals reporter) Josh McCuistion wrote a little article about me and I blew up — man, that’s a dream. You can’t – I can’t really put it into words.”

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Our Top 20 list was chosen by five voters: SI Sooners publisher John Hoover, deputy editor Parker Thune, long-time OU fan and amateur Sooner historian Anthony Jumper, OU school of journalism student Caroline Grace, and OU history and stats expert Steven Smith (aka Blinkin Riley).

The criteria was simple: former Sooners who played at OU during the last 20 years and went on to an NFL career. The rest, i.e, their NFL career, was purely subjective. Players received 20 points for a first-place vote, 19 for second, etc., down to 1 point for 20th. A total of 28 players received votes.

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