Oklahoma DE R Mason Thomas Entering 2025 After ‘Best Couple Months of Ball’

Thomas had plenty of NFL buzz after his prolific 2024 season.

The defensive end was a second-team All-SEC selection and won SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors in OU’s 24-3 win over Alabama. Between his 6-foot-2, 249-pound frame and his junior-year production, Thomas would have been highly sought after.

But Thomas realized that he had plenty of growing left to do before climbing to the professional ranks.

“(My coach and I) went through all the film, just wanted to see what I could work on: There were a lot of things I could work on,” Thomas said. “Not a complete player. And then we were looking at the edge rushers in the draft, and I ultimately just talked to God and decided to come back."

Even with such a successful 2024 season, Thomas singled out his size as an area for improvement during the offseason.

READ MORE OKLAHOMA SOONERS

• OU Softball: How Will Patty Gasso Manage Oklahoma's Large Pitching Staff in 2026?
• Oklahoma Linebacker Kip Lewis Keeping 'Head Down' After Big 2024 Season
• Can Oklahoma QB John Mateer Replicate His Outstanding Production in the SEC?

"I wanted to focus on my run game, so with that I needed to add weight, power, lean muscle,” Thomas said. “So I got with the nutrition and strength staff to get me right. Plus nine pounds. I went from like 240 to 249."

If Thomas wasn’t already tough enough to block last year, he was during spring ball. Michael Fasusi — a freshman and consensus 5-star offensive tackle in the Class of 2025 — named Thomas as the toughest player to get past during the Sooners’ offseason practices.

“He's pretty fast, just getting off that line, staying square, throwing those hands,” Fasusi said. “Just having good eyes, having good hands, having good feet, that's what it's really like going against him. It's a blessing going against guys like that.”

Because of his decision to return to Norman, Thomas is one of the most veteran players on OU’s defensive line — one of the Sooners’ deepest position groups.

Others with significant OU experience on the d-line include defensive tackle Gracen Halton, defensive tackle Damonic Williams, defensive tackle Jayden Jackson and defensive end Adepoju Adebawore. The Sooners also picked up defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. — who previously played at Florida State and Georgia — from the transfer portal.

Thomas believes that if he reinforces good patterns that he’ll be a leader in the stacked position group.

“Just gotta stay with the routine,” Thomas said. “It's hard to, because it's my third spring, my fourth year, so the consistency is just finding the routine and sticking with it."