Gerald McCoy

Oklahoma Sooners — No. 93
Defensive tackle	Junior
Major: Human relations
Date of birth: February 25, 1988 (1988-02-25) (age 21)
Place of birth: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 295 lb (134 kg)
Career history
High school: Southeast High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
College(s): University of Oklahoma (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards
2x First-team All-American selection (2008, 2009) 2x First-team All-Big 12 (2008, 2009) USA Today Defensive Player of the Year (2005) Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year (2005)
Stats at Rivals.com

Gerald McCoy (born February 25, 1988) is a defensive lineman for the Oklahoma Sooners. An All-American performer, McCoy is considered one of the top prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft.^[1][2]

[edit] High school career

McCoy prepped at Southeast High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he was coached by Michael Branch. He also went to Jefferson Middle School in Oklahoma City. After notching 83 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss and 20 sacks, he was named All-area, all-state and all-metro as a junior in 2004. As a senior he logged 82 tackles, 20 sacks and recovered nine fumbles.

McCoy received numerous awards including 2005 National Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today.^[3] He was ranked as the top defensive tackle of the class of 2006 by a number of recruiting services, including Rivals.com.^[4] Following his stellar high school career, McCoy was invited to play in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

[edit] College career

McCoy redshirted the 2006 NCAA football season.

In 2007, the Big 12 named McCoy the Defensive Freshman of the Year.^[5] He finished the 2007 season with 19 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.^[6]

As a third-year sophomore in 2008, McCoy led all Oklahoma interior defensive lineman with 30 tackles and was second on the team with 6.5 quarterback sacks, including two sacks against Texas. He helped the Sooners to reach the 2009 BCS National Championship Game and recorded his first career interception. McCoy was named "Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year" by the Dallas Morning News and was a consensus All-America selection.

Despite having been considered one of the top prospects for the 2009 NFL Draft, McCoy chose to return to Oklahoma for his junior season.^[7] Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 2 defensive tackle in college football in 2009.^[8]

As of May 2009^[update], he is assumed to be a top-5 in the 2010 NFL Draft and projects as either a 4-3 "three-technique" defensive tackle or a 3-4 defensive end at the professional level.^{[1][2][9][10]}

On November 10, McCoy was named one of four finalists for the 2009 Lombardi Award.^[11] McCoy is the only non-senior on a list that also includes Terrence Cody, Jerry Hughes, and Ndamukong Suh.

McCoy finished the season playing in 12 games making 31 tackles (14.5 for losses) five sacks, two passes broken up, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He was voted First-team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation. McCoy also became the 37th Sooner player to earn All-America honors in more than one season. He was named to All-America teams by The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated after the 2008 season. During the season he broke the school record for most consecutive starts by a defensive lineman with 38.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Gerald McCoy official bio at SoonerSports.com