Sooners DL Isaiah Thomas Ready to Take On Larger Role: "I'm Built for This Moment"
With just over 48 hours until the Sooners' long-awaited 2020 season kicks off, most of the Oklahoma roster is surely hoping to erase or bury memories of their 63-28 Peach Bowl thrashing at the hands of LSU.
But conversely, one player looking to build off a strong end-of-season surge is defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas. The redshirt junior came up with a crucial sack in Oklahoma's overtime win over Baylor in the Big 12 championship, and he reflects on the play as a personal turning point.
"It was definitely a confidence booster," he said. "I struggled my first couple years here, and with that big play, I definitely started to grow more confident in myself. And that carried on throughout offseason and carried on throughout fall camp and I made big plays throughout camp and I stood out. It's because I'm comfortable in what I'm doing. I see myself as more so looking to make a play other than just doing my job."
And clearly, Thomas isn't just tooting his own horn about his performance in fall practices. Lincoln Riley mentioned him by name as one of the team's standout preseason performers.
"Isaiah Thomas has had a really strong camp," Riley told media last week. "Very, very pleased with him."
A former four-star recruit out of Tulsa Memorial, Thomas has recorded just 11 tackles in his career as a Sooner. His production hasn't matched the hype quite yet, but with Ronnie Perkins presumably set to miss the first several games due to suspension, Thomas is in line to start in the interim. He's listed as Perkins' backup on Oklahoma's initial depth chart.
"I've got no problem stepping into this bigger role," Thomas said. "I'm here for a reason. I'm built for this moment. I'm going to take advantage of what I have in front of me and make the most of it because I didn't do that early on in my career. So now that I know it's my time to shine, and I will show that on the field, and I'm very confident in that."
Neville Gallimore's departure leaves a huge void to fill along the defensive line, and the Sooners also lose Marquise Overton, Kenneth Mann and Dillon Faamatau. But fortunately, Thomas is joined in the trenches by a wealth of experienced and versatile talent. Junior college transfer Perrion Winfrey will start at nose guard, while LaRon Stokes will get the nod at defensive tackle and Nik Bonitto will serve as the first-string rush end. Oklahoma will also get contributions from Marcus Stripling, Kori Roberson, Jordan Kelley and Josh Ellison, as well as high-ceiling freshmen Reggie Grimes and Brynden Walker.
"We see the opportunity that we have in front of us and the players that we lost year, the several seniors we lost," said Thomas. "We see that we have a big opportunity ahead of us, and we have to step in and fill those shoes and make plays out there on the field so we can have the best chance to win a championship again."
Thomas and the rest of the defensive line will certainly appreciate a tune-up against Missouri State, especially with a much tougher test on deck. Kansas State comes to Norman on Sept. 26, and the Sooners have no doubt forgotten the havoc that Skylar Thompson and company wreaked in the ground game last season. In the raucous atmosphere of Bill Snyder Family Stadium, the Wildcats gashed the Oklahoma defensive front for 213 rushing yards en route to a 48-41 upset victory.
This time around, the Sooners play host. But with extremely limited stadium capacity, Oklahoma won't have the same advantage that Kansas State did last October. Nevertheless, Thomas says that's no excuse to play complacent in the Palace on the Prairie.
"We still have to play to our standard, play fast and live up to this tradition that we have going for us so far, and even exceed that standard," said Thomas. "We can't use this as a distraction or an excuse. We can't look to the fans for them to hype us up or anything like that. So I think we'll be fine, and we'll adapt to it."
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