Oklahoma DE R Mason Thomas 'Still in Deep Thought' About His Future

OU's star pass rusher said he'll play in the bowl game, but he's yet to decide if he'll enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas will play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Navy on Dec. 27 for the Sooners. 

That’s fantastic news. 

But the talented edge rusher said there are still decisions for him to make regarding his future beyond that. 

“I thought about it a little bit, but I’m still in deep thought about it,” Thomas said after OU’s practice on Friday. “Talking to my family about it. I don’t know you. I’m not even sure, like, when the last date to do whatever that is. But I’m still in deep thought about it.”

The calculation for Thomas is likely whether he will stay in Norman another year to continue to develop under head coach Brent Venables, or if he wants to head to the NFL Draft. 

Thomas had an excellent close to the 2024 regular season, which has increased the buzz around him. 

He finished the year with 22 total tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and nine quarterback sacks. He also added a pair of forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries — his most recent being a scoop-and-score in the regular season finale against LSU. 

Injuries prevented him from playing full strength as either a freshman or a sophomore, but that didn’t stop him from flashing in his limited snaps. 

He totaled seven tackles as a true freshman in 2022, including a tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks, and he improved that to nine tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack in 2023 despite spraining both his ankles. 

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The 6-foot-2, 243-pound defensive end will make his money hunting down quarterbacks on Sunday’s.

His first step around the edge is explosive, and he got more consistent as the year went on by dialing in on the fine details when watching film throughout the week.

“I kind of (started) looking at tendencies,” he said. “Obviously, they're gonna game plan certain things, but you start looking at… when it's pass, when it's run. That really helped me a lot, because sometimes, if you see me, like, hesitate a little bit, I may not know if it's run or pass. But then when I had those tendencies and I know what to watch on film, what to look for, not just watching film just to watch it, it really helped me a lot. 

“And then my back half (of the regular season), I knew most of time when it's pass… It’s really the film study.”

Keeping Thomas for another year is a priority for Oklahoma’s coaching staff, as he would be the centerpiece of the Sooners’ pass rush in 2025, but that’s a decision that will ultimately take some more time for Thomas to sort out. 

For now, Thomas just wants to finish the season with a win over Navy alongside his teammates. 

“The key is just staying the same. No matter what, who we got, it’s the next man up,” he said. “… Next man up. Glad to have these people who are stepping into that new role and just basically keep the standard the standard and not stray away from it.”