R Mason Thomas earns Nagurski Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week award

After a strong performance against Tulane, R Mason Thomas named Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week.

The breakout was coming at some point for [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag]. And it came in a big way against the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday.

It wasn’t simply that it was a three-sack day for defensive end R Mason Thomas. It was when that three-sack day occurred that was so special.

With just over six minutes to play in the Oklahoma Sooners win over Tulane, the Green Wave were attempting to mount a comeback. But on their second-to-last drive of the game, Thomas put a stop to that.

The junior edge rusher came up with two sacks and batted down a pass on third down to set up his fourth-down sack. Then, on the Green Wave’s final drive of the game, Mason closed up shop for the Tulane offense, getting to Darian Mensah, stripping the quarterback of the ball, and recovering his own forced fumble.

Thomas was named the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

It was an epic performance that showed off the ability that’s flashed over the last couple of years. During his weekly press conference, Brent Venables said of R Mason Thomas, “Been a long time coming for him from an injury standpoint.”

The Sooners needed someone to step up to create a consistent pass rush, and Thomas showed up in a big way. With Tennessee’s prolific offense coming to town Saturday night, the Sooners need more from R Mason Thomas and the rest of the defensive line to be able to slow down the Volunteers.

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