R Mason Thomas took his nickname ‘The Closer’ to a whole new level after what he told his teammates in win over Auburn
R Mason “The Closer” Thomas sealed the win for the Oklahoma Sooners over the Auburn Tigers.
The Oklahoma Sooners have one of the most clutch players in the country, and he’s not even on the offensive side of the ball. Do you know how much harder it is to be clutch on defense? It’s a lot harder, yet R Mason Thomas has done it time and time again.
Against the Auburn Tigers, he showed why “The Closer” is his nickname, but he took that to a whole other level.
“[R Mason Thomas] was just like, ‘Let me go get him.’ And that’s why we backed off and let him do his thing,” defensive tackle Gracen Halton told On3’s Parker Thune after the game.
Thomas was the only defensive tackle to rush the passer on that last play. Everyone else just started backing up, basically playing soft contain in case Jackson Arnold started to scramble. Thomas sacked Arnold for a safety to basically seal the game.
Tell me that’s not taking his nickname to a whole other level.
Sooners’ R Mason Thomas is a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft
Coming into the game last week, Thomas was suspended for the first half because of a targeting call against the Temple Owls. Oklahoma played the first half without arguably the best edge rusher in the country, and it was evident when he returned, as he almost immediately sacked Arnold.
Thomas had two sacks in the game, despite not playing the first half. He also had a chase-down tackle on an Auburn RB that was 44 yards downfield, yet the edge rusher was the one to chase him down. You just don’t see that very often.
His speed to power rushing is elite, and he has so many moves and tools in his toolbag. Thomas doesn’t just rush the passer, either; he plays the run at an elite level, too. You can see Auburn’s game plan in the run game completely change when Thomas played.
Sure, part of that was because it was the second half, but also because that’s the type of presence he has. Thomas has been double-teamed all year long, which is why he only has two sacks on the year, compared to the nine he had last season. He’s setting himself up to be a first-round pick.
Coming into the week, it was thought around the college football world that Auburn’s offensive line was pretty decent. With 10 sacks on the day, a school record, and two by Thomas, they made that offensive line look like an FCS school’s OL.
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