Oklahoma DE R Mason Thomas' 'Fantastic' Fourth Quarter Sealed the Tulane Win in Style

The Oklahoma defensive end totaled three sacks, a batted pass, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery all in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

Sep 14, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman R Mason Thomas (32) celebrates with Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) during the second half against the Tulane Green Wave at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s defense has found a few heroes through the first three weeks of the season. 

Against Houston, defensive tackle Gracen Halton came through with the key safety to ice the game. 

Saturday, as the No. 15-ranked Sooners hosted Tulane, it was defensive end R Mason Thomas who took the game over in the fourth quarter. 

Jackson Arnold’s 24-yard touchdown run erased his Pick Six to put OU up 31-19 in the fourth quarter. 

The Green Wave essentially had to score on every possession the rest of the way to stay in the contest. Instead, Thomas entered the nightmares of Tulane redshirt freshman Darian Mensah. 

On first down, Thomas came tearing off the edge, sacking Mensah to put Tulane behind the chains. 

Two snaps later, he batted down Mensah’s pass at the line of scrimmage before logging his second sack of the season on fourth down. 

Oklahoma cashed in on the great field position, but Thomas wasn’t done. 

He closed out OU’s 34-19 win in style. 

Thomas recorded his third sack of the game, but also knocked the ball loose from Mensah’s hand to usher in the victory formation for Oklahoma (3-0) to officially close the door on the Green Wave (1-2).

𝐑 𝐌𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 🤩 (this was all in the second half, btw) @thomss_r | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/FAbUG6UBYl

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 15, 2024

“R Mason Thomas was just fantastic there in the second half,” OU coach Brent Venables said after the win. “Certainly in late …  He did a fantastic job.”

Thomas, who showed promise as a true freshman in 2022, endured a tough sophomore campaign. 

He was on track to win a starting defensive end job out of fall camp before sustaining an ankle sprain. Eventually, he sprained his other ankle, too, and he only really got up to full speed for the final two games of the 2023 season. 

“It feels good to start the season off fresh,” Thomas said. “… It can get hard sometimes, especially with (injuries) like that it’s kind of hard to walk even sometimes. 

“… When you’re injured and you’ve got that homesick feeling it just doesn’t go together.”

In his darkest times, Thomas never considered transferring. But he did lean on his faith to get him through.

“(I) really started going deeper into the word when I had injuries and doubts and misconceptions and all that,” he said. 

All of Thomas’ work to get back healthy finally came together late against Tulane. 

Once the Sooners went back up 12 points, Venables was able to dial up more pressure with the Green Wave backed into obvious passing situations. 

“They had to throw the ball, time was their enemy, timeouts were now an issue and their backs were against the wall for the first time really all night,” Venables said.

Able to pin his ears back, Thomas was just happy to produce and get to celebrate with the rest of the defense. 

“It’s fun when you’re hyping up with your teammates,” Thomas said, “and just going all out and then you can barely breathe when you get to the sideline. That’s crazy.”

Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas bats down Darian Mensah's pass in OU's victory over Tulane. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Aș pleased as Thomas was with his performance in the closing minutes, his teammates were even happier for the junior pass rusher. 

“It’s a guy who is now reaping what he has been sowing,” safety Billy Bowman said. “A guy who works every single day. He has had some injuries that I’m pretty sure has had his head down. He’s found a way to pick himself back up and continue to work. Proud of him. It showed tonight how good of a player he is.”

Now, all Thomas hopes he can do is cash his next fumble recovery in for a touchdown. 

“I was definitely trying to take that to the crib for sure,” he said. “I gotta get with Coach (DeMarco) Murray and get my running back skills. Can’t let the first guy tackle me for sure.”