The Oklahoma Sooners may have gone 6-7 last season, but the defense was a shining light on an otherwise depressing first season in the SEC. The defense gave the Sooners a chance, but it didn’t get much help from the other side of the ball.
Much of the discussion about the Oklahoma Sooners this offseason centers on the changes on offense, but a lot of the optimism rests on the defense as well. A defense that allowed just 21.5 points per game last season returns a bevy of key players like Robert Spears-Jennings, Gracen Halton, Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams, Eli Bowen, Kip Lewis, and R Mason Thomas.
There are high expectations for the Oklahoma defense, particularly for Thomas, whom head coach Brent Venables has seen take strides this offseason.
“I thought R Mason Thomas had his best couple months of ball and leadership – all of it, you know, combined.” Venables said in a press conference back in April. “You know he’s a quiet guy by nature, but I think he took a real step forward … to get out of his comfort zone and raise the level of the players around him.”
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg included Thomas among the top non-quarterback playmakers for 2025.
Although Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman Jr. are off to the NFL, coach Brent Venables can build around players such as Thomas, who showed premier pass-rushing skills last fall. More than half of his total tackles came for losses, and he earned second-team All-SEC honors in his first season as a starter. Thomas became the first Oklahoma player to record three sacks in a game since 2020, and got better as games went along, recording six of his sacks in the fourth quarter. He also had a fumble return for a touchdown and recorded a forced fumble and a sack against LSU. – Rittenberg, ESPN
Thomas came up huge in crunch time for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2024, providing an elite pass rushing threat for the OU defense. Returning for his senior season, he’s hoping to get the opportunity to play with a lead more frequently as the Sooners offense expects to be significantly better.
He had a nine-sack season in 2024, including six in SEC play, but he had far fewer pass rush snaps than other SEC edge rushers. Arkansas’ Landon Jackson led SEC edge rushers in pass rush snaps with 362 in 12 games. Texas’ Barryn Sorrell also had 362 pass rush snaps, but he played in 16 games for the Longhorns. Compare that to Thomas, who had just 243 pass rush snaps last season. He finished the season with the same amount of total pressures as Jackson, according to Pro Football Focus, on 119 fewer pass rush snaps.
If the Sooners’ offense can play more neutral script football, where teams are forced to pass more to beat them, then Thomas should get more opportunities to rush the passer and build off of his production from the 2024 season. And if Oklahoma finds itself playing with a lead more in 2025, then Thomas is set to have a massive season for Brent Venables and the OU defense.
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