David Stone's connection to Florida gets highlighted by Miami Hurricanes analyst
David Stone's entry into the transfer portal is one of the biggest movements that hit the spring transfer portal window. The former five-star recruit from IMG Academy chose to join Brent Venables' Oklahoma over other major programs. However, just one year after joining the Sooners, Stone has decided to move on.
This opened up space for the college football world to start making predictions and joining real and imaginary dots to come up with a possible destination for the touted defensive lineman.
One connection that Canes analyst Alex Donno made was how Miami was the runner-up the first time the top defensive lineman had a decision to make.
"We'll see how the dust settles because David Stone, he's gonna receive calls from literally dozens if not hundreds of teams around the country," Donno said on Saturday, via 'Locked on Canes.' "But things that give Miami a potential edge here, guys.
"The Hurricanes literally finished second in David Stone's recruitment. In fact, on the day he put the Oklahoma hat on, and he had that Miami hat on, the table and nearly grabbed it. Even family members and friends of Stone seemingly thought that day that he was gonna choose the Miami Hurricanes. It was that close."
The Hurricanes had a stellar defensive line last year. Although they lost two key pillars, Simeon Barrow Jr. and Tyler Baron, due to eligibility exhaustion, Stone is the kind of transfer portal prospect that could fill the gaping hole in their defensive line.
Donno also pointed out that this conflict between Miami and Oklahoma is not new for Stone, since he has a connection to both places.
"Now Stone, he played at IMG Academy, which is in Bradenton, Florida, but its a boarding school," Donno said. "He's from Oklahoma City. He's an OKC native who grew up a Sooners fan. So when he made that decision when he came out of high school, he made it with his heart."
Stone is moving on, but not everyone is surprised by the news. One Oklahoma City sports radio director believes that Stone's actions might have foreshadowed this move.
OKC radio director claims he saw David Stone's exit coming
David Stone played a key role for the Oklahoma Sooners even though he was a true freshman. He played all 13 games as he was needed with the loss of veteran Jacob Lacey to medical retirement.
Despite being a pivotal figure in the Sooners' defense, Stone has decided to move on to another team, and Oklahoma's Dean Blevins of WWLS Radio pointed out how this was evident from his perspective.
"The fact the #Sooners got nothing from another 5-star in David Stone in his brief stint at OU is on one hand sad & mind-boggling. But on the other (hand), absolutely no surprise that he’s 1-&-done. Seemed more interested (i)n social media nonsense than working at becoming a FB player," Blevins tweeted on Friday.
Stone's entry brings up more questions than answers. He was a key figure in the defense, so they do not have another prospect of that caliber, and the Sooners also made some great moves in the transfer portal. It will be interesting to see how Brent Venables and Co. fill this gap up and where Stone lands in this intense spring transfer portal.