Just about everyone looks up to Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. In the literal sense, it’s because he’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 295 pounds. But there’s a metaphorical sense, too.

“He’s just a prince of a guy, a guy that’s a leader in every part of his life,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

Sam Bradford might be the face of the Sooners this season. He’s the quarterback and in the limelight the most of the time. He gets lots of credit and lots of blame when things go right or wrong.

But McCoy is the team’s conscience. He is the one that others turn to on the field and off of it. When he talks, others listen. When he leads, others follow.

It’s been that way for McCoy virtually all of his life. He lives by a simple motto.

“Bible principles say be the head, not the tail; My parents raised me to be that way,” McCoy said. “Be a leader, not a follower. I try to live life like that.”

Life on the field has been good to McCoy.

Last season, he was the Big 12 Conference’s defensive freshman of the year. This season, he will add to the accolades with 61⁄2 sacks and 91⁄2 tackles for loss. When the All-Big 12 team is announced next week, McCoy will undoubtedly be on the first team. When All-American teams are released in the coming weeks, he’ll be a member of several.

But there’s more to McCoy’s importance to the Sooners than what he does on Saturdays in the fall.

Linebacker Keenan Clayton said being around McCoy is a daily inspiration.

“He’s always happy, he never gives coaches a problem, he never complains and he always works hard,” Clayton said. “When we were in summer workouts or in two-a-days when it’s 110 degrees and the last place you want to be is there, Gerald is out there getting everyone fired up and ready to go. You don’t have any choice but to respect a guy that brings that every day.”

“That’s just me,” McCoy said. “We’re out at practice and it’s not like we’re going to get out of it. Might as well be intense. Football is fun and I love it. I can’t say that I love practice. I mean, who likes practice? But I figure if we’re going to be there, we might as well be fired up about it.”

It isn’t like everything is McCoy’s life is easy. There have been hardships.

His mother, Patricia McCoy, died shortly before the 2007 season. The loss jolted McCoy, but never staggered him. His deep-rooted faith and his character wouldn’t let him.

“The situation with his mom, that can alter people’s lives altogether, but the way he bounced back from that,” defensive tackle Cory Bennett recalled. “One thing that benefits him, that benefits all of us, is that he’s a spiritual leader.”