Gerald McCoy Gerald Keith McCoy ( born February 25 , 1988 ) is an American Football defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Oklahoma , and earned consensus All - American honors . McCoy was the third pick overall in the 2010 NFL Draft . Early years . McCoy was born in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . He attended Southeast High School in Oklahoma City , where he played for the Southeast Spartans high school football team . 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 was invited to play in the 2006 U . S . Army All - American Bowl . Regarded as a five - star recruit by " Rivals . com " , McCoy was ranked as the No . 1 defensive tackle prospect in his class . 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 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 . College career . McCoy attended the University of Oklahoma , where he played for coach Bob Stoops ' Oklahoma Sooners football team from 2006 to 2009 . 2007 season . After being redshirted in 2006 , 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 . 2008 season . In his junior 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 . 2009 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 had four passes defensed . Professional career . 2010 NFL Draft . McCoy was considered one of the top prospects of the 2009 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 with the 3rd overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft ( as projected , to play 3 - technique DT ) . He was the highest selected Sooners defender since Tony Casillas in 1986 . 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 . 2010 season . Gerald McCoy made his NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns on September 12 , 2010 . The Buccaneers won the game 17 to 14 , thanks in large part to a great defensive performance that saw McCoy make 3 tackles while forcing a fumble . McCoy also became just the fifth defensive rookie to start for the Buccaneers on opening day since 1995 when Warren Sapp played against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 21 to 6 victory . Mccoy recorded his first NFL sack against the San Francisco 49ers on November 21 , 2010 . In the game , the Bucs shut out the Niners 21 to 0 for their first win in Candlestick Park since 1980 . His first multi - sack game came a week later , on November 28 , 2010 when he sacked quarterback Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens twice . The Buccaneers ended up losing that game 17 to 10 despite a strong defensive performance . On December 12 , 2010 , McCoy suffered a torn left biceps , causing the team to place him on IR two days later . McCoy finished 2010 tied for third on the Buccaneers with 3 . 0 sacks , tied for fourth on the team with 6 . 0 tackles for loss and ranked second with 17 quarterback pressures during his rookie season , despite missing the final three games . 2011 season . In his second season in the NFL , McCoy once again was limited by injuries and appeared in only 11 games . The second - year defensive tackle was placed on injured reserve on November 7 , 2011 after tearing his right biceps during the opening quarter of a 27 – 16 loss to New Orleans that dropped the Bucs ( 4 – 4 ) into third place in the NFC South . McCoy had just returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous two games because on an ankle injury . It was the second straight year McCoy ' s season ended prematurely because of an arm injury . The Bucs finished their struggling 2011 season on a 10 game losing streak wich led to the firing of Head Coach Raheem Morris . 2012 season . The 24 - year - old bounced back in 2012 , having a significant impact on the Bucs ' top - ranked rushing defense and earning his first Pro Bowl berth in his first season un - marred by injury . " I just wanted to play a full season , " McCoy said . " This is definitely a gift from God . God has outdone himself with this . " My goal was to be my best for my team . But by doing that , I was able to accomplish that and show people that I can play a little football . " Receiver Vincent Jackson and running back Doug Martin were named alternates for the Pro Bowl , joining their teammate McCoy . 2013 season . McCoy began the 2013 season in good form , registering 2 sacks and a fumble recovery by Week 4 . McCoy continued his strong season with a big game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 10 . He recorded 5 tackles including 2 for a loss , and also sacked Miami Quarterback Ryan Tannehill . McCoy enjoyed the most productive day of his career in Week 11 of the 2013 season . Registering 6 tackles , 3 sacks and a pass deflection at home against the Atlanta Falcons , tying a franchise single - game sack record for a defensive tackle with Warren Sapp and Brad Culpepper . McCoy was voted to his second consecutive Pro Bowl in 2013 . He finished the season with 50 Total Tackles , 9 Sacks , 8 Tackles for a Loss , 4 Pass Deflections and a Fumble Recovery . He was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the NFL ' s Best Defensive Tackle for the 2013 NFL Season . McCoy was named first - team All - Pro by the associated press along with teammate Lavonte David Personal life . McCoy majored in human relations at the University of Oklahoma . In May 2012 , McCoy was presented with the 2012 Pop Warner Little Scholars ' Inspiration to Youth ' Award at Pop Warner ' s annual All - American Scholastic Banquet in Orlando , Florida . In September 2012 , McCoy helped present a $ 100 , 000 to build Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field in Clearwater ' s North Greenwood community , where McCoy and teammates also led local youths through football drills . Gerald McCoy is married to Ebony McCoy and the couple have two children : a son , Marcellus Crutchfield and a daughter , Nevaeh McCoy .