True Freshman R Mason Thomas is Already Turning Heads at Oklahoma
NORMAN — R Mason Thomas was a late recruiting win for Oklahoma.
Brent Venables and his staff worked hard to flip the talented pass rusher this past winter, and after arriving in the summer Thomas is already turning heads.
The 6-foot-2, 222-pound defensive end quickly made an impression, and was listed as a co-backup at both defensive end spots when the Sooners released their first official depth chart on Monday.
Even though he missed the winter and spring practice with the team, Thomas’ new teammates quickly realized the dynamic pass rushing abilities that the true freshman brings to the table.
“I’m telling you, R Mason is someone you’ve got to keep on your radar,” sophomore defensive end Ethan Downs said after practice on Monday. “He is the fastest dude in the room right now. He came in, he was 17 years old just a week ago, and he’s faster than all of the D-Ends.
“He picked up the playbook like that. He’s just agile, he’s one of the lightest dudes in the room and he’s one of the toughest dudes in the room, just being able to use leverage, technique. He was throwing around guys that are nearly 100 pounds heavier than him.”
Experience offensive tackle Anton Harrison said the first thing that stood out to him about Thomas was how quick he moves around on the field.
“He’s fast,” Harrison said. “He knows the game of football. He knows how to work his moves. He has a second move, not a lot of players can use that second move. As a young player, he’s really good with that.”
Stepping into Miguel Chavis’ defensive end room was going to be a challenge this summer. Downs, Reggie Grimes, Jonah Laulu and Marcus Stripling all had the spring install to learn the new defense as well as add mass to their frames working under strength coach Jerry Schmidt.
But getting integrated to the team has been a seamless process due in large part to the workman-like attitude Thomas has brought to the practice field every day.
“I love Mase to death,” Grimes said. “He always comes to work with a lunch pail mentality. He’s a blue-collar kind of kid and again, love him. He’s a hell of a ball player, hell of a pass rusher.
“He’s really quick, really twitchy. And I can’t wait to see not only what this year holds but what his future holds.”
If the Sooners find ways to utilize Thomas in 2022, they’ll be able to throw a number of different looks out due to the versatile personnel in Chavis’ defensive ends room.
“All of our d-ends are different in their own way,” Harrison said. “The freshman R Mason, he surprised a lot of us coming in with his pass rushing. And then we have the run-stopping d-ends. Reggie, he can play both. Jonah, he’s strong. E Downs, it’s a battle every time. Iron sharpens iron and it’s about making us better every day.”
Oklahoma has to replace 15 quarterback sacks from 2021 that were lost with the departures of Nik Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas to the NFL Draft.
There are plenty of guys ahead of him on the depth chart, but the true freshman could be given opportunities to produce early in his career that will only help him gain more and more experience as he develops at Oklahoma.
“What’s he going to be when he’s got some weight on him, some experience, some confidence? R Mason’s going to be a dude,” Downs said. “I’m going to be surprised if he’s not out of here in three years.”
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