Gerald McCoy Calls Out Oklahoma for Canceling Spring Game in Favor of Crimson Combine

Oklahoma Sooners legend Gerald McCoy is unhappy the school has canceled its annual spring game in favor of a combine event.

In a post on X, McCoy disagreed with the move because it takes away opportunities for younger players and players who may have improved during the offseason to perform in a game-like situation in front of a crowd.

Oklahoma announced on Monday the spring game will be replaced with the Crimson Combine, which will allow players to perform in "combine-style drills, skills challenges, on-field fan engagement activities, autograph and photo opportunities, and more."

The Sooners are not alone in doing away with the traditional spring game. It's becoming common throughout the country for programs to do away with the event for a variety of reasons.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said in February he didn't want to hold a spring game because it resulted in several players on the team receiving NIL offers from opposing programs that were able to watch them on television:

"I think it's really, fundamentally—I hate to say it like this—it's really because last year we were one of the more televised spring games, and I dealt with a lot of people offering our players a lot of opportunities after that. To go out and bring in a bunch of new players and showcase them for all the other schools to watch, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

There are at least eight programs that have opted not to hold a spring game in 2025, including Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and Florida State.

Alabama is still holding its annual A-Day game, but it's not going to be broadcast on television. It's unclear why the program is taking the game off TV after previously airing it on the SEC Network.

McCoy was a standout on the Sooners' defensive line for three seasons from 2007 to '09. He was named to the All-American first team in both of his final two college years.