Gerald McCoy

McCoy also became the 37th Sooner player to earn All-America honors in more than one season.

He was the highest selected Sooners defender since Tony Casillas went to the Atlanta Falcons in 1986.

Gerald Keith McCoy Jr. (born February 25, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, earning consensus All-American honors.

At No. 4 in the overall ranking he was the highest ranked defensive tackle since Haloti Ngata (No. 2) in 2002.

Recruited by virtually every major school in the country, McCoy took official visits to Notre Dame, Southern California, Virginia Tech, Louisiana State, and Miami (FL), before committing to his home-state Sooners on National Signing Day.

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.

Following his senior season, McCoy played in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

In track & field, McCoy was one of the state's top performers in the shot put (top-throw of 16.90 meters).

Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, McCoy was ranked as the No. 1 defensive tackle prospect in his class.

McCoy attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for head coach Bob Stoops's Oklahoma Sooners football team from 2006 to 2009.

After being redshirted for the 2006 season, the young McCoy faced high expectations.

In 2007, the Big 12 named McCoy the Defensive Freshman of the Year.

He finished the 2007 season with 19 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks while starting and playing in 13 games.

In his sophomore season, McCoy led all of Oklahoma's interior defensive linemen with 30 tackles and was second on the team with 6.5 sacks.

He also had career-high two sacks against Texas and his first career interception came in the BCS title game against Florida.

After the season, he was named Sporting News First-team All-American, AP Second-team All- American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

At the University of Oklahoma, McCoy was a two-time team captain that started all 40 games during his career (2007– 09), playing the three-technique right defensive tackle position.

He also recorded two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, one interception, and four passes defensed.

He was named to All-America teams by The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated after the 2008 season.

Despite having been considered one of the top prospects for the 2009 NFL Draft, McCoy chose to return to Oklahoma for his junior season.

Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 2 defensive tackle in college football in 2009.

McCoy finished the season playing in 15 games making 35 tackles (15.5 for losses) six sacks, two passes broken up, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

He was voted First-team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation.

On November 10, McCoy was named one of four finalists for the 2009 Lombardi Award.

McCoy was the only non-senior on a list that also included Terrence Cody, Jerry Hughes, and Ndamukong Suh.

He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the third overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.

McCoy has been selected to the Pro Bowl six times, and was selected to one First-team All-Pro.

McCoy was born in Oklahoma City to Gerald McCoy, Sr. and Patricia McCoy.

He attended Southeast High School in Oklahoma City, where he played for the Southeast Spartans high school football team and competed in track.

McCoy was considered one of the top prospects of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Before the draft, he was projected as either a 4–3 three-technique defensive tackle or a 3–4 defensive end at the professional level.

McCoy was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round with the third overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft (as projected, to play 3-technique defensive tackle).

He was also the second of three Oklahoma Sooners drafted in the first four picks of the 2010 NFL Draft, marking the first time in NFL history that one college has had three players selected among the first four picks.

Quarterback Sam Bradford was selected by the St. Louis Rams with the 1st pick and Offensive Tackle Trent Williams was selected by the Washington Redskins with the 4th pick.

McCoy and the Buccaneers agreed to a five-year, $63 million contract on July 31, 2010.

McCoy made his NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns on September 12, 2010.

The Buccaneers won the game 17-14, thanks in large part to a great defensive performance that saw McCoy make three tackles while forcing a fumble.