OU Depth Chart: Who Will Emerge Opposite of Oklahoma's R Mason Thomas at Defensive End?

Former 5-star Adepoju Adebawore suffered similar injury misfortune as Thomas did in his sophomore campaign. 

Adebawore’s season got off to a rocky start when he sustained an ankle injury while stretching in the lead-up to Oklahoma’s season opener. 

Though he ended up playing in 10 games, Adebawore struggled to make a major impact. He totaled four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in 2024, but with Ethan Downs graduating, the Sooners need Adebawore to take a major jump and live up to his billing out of high school.

Oklahoma landed Marvin Jones Jr. out of the transfer portal, who, like Adebawore, was highly touted as a high schooler. Still, he’s never quite lived up to the hype in previous stops at Georgia and Florida State. 

Still, 2024 was the best year yet for Jones. In his lone year with the Seminoles, he tallied 25 tackles, six tackles for loss and four sacks while also forcing a fumble. 

Jones won’t be surprised by the size and physicality of the SEC after two years with Georgia, and if things aren’t able to finally click, he still has a valuable role to play as a rotational piece. 

The wild card at defensive end is redshirt sophomore Taylor Wein.

He’s been stuck behind established veterans so far at Oklahoma, so he’s been unable to make a real impact on the field. But Wein’s showings were one of the highlights of spring football, and there are snaps up for grabs if he can carry that level of play into fall camp leading up to the season. 

Outside of the trio vying to round out the lineup opposite of Thomas, OU defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis has a gaggle of young pieces hoping to play a role in 2025.

Danny Okoye has put on more weight, adding an explosive body that fires off the football as a redshirt freshman. 

His classmate, Wyatt Gilmore, has also settled in after a year with the program, and local product Alex Shieldnight arrived as a true freshman and is willing to do anything to get onto the field for the Sooners. 

With plenty of experience on the interior of the defensive line and talent at linebacker, the Sooners just need one guy to emerge alongside Thomas to solidify a talented front seven.