11-08-2025
Oklahoma star pass rusher named to Bednarik Award watch list
The Oklahoma Sooners expect to have one of the best defenses in the nation in 2025 after a breakout year in 2024. A big reason for the lofty expectations is that Oklahoma will deploy one of college football's best pass rushers in the country, R Mason Thomas.
Thomas is coming off of a season where he had nine sacks and led the Sooners in pressures. He landed on the preseason All-SEC team as voted on by the media and became one of the most disruptive players in the SEC last season. Ahead of year four with the Sooners, Thomas was included on the Bednarik Watch list for 2025.
The Bednarik Award is given to the Defensive Player of the Year in college football. Colorado's Travis Hunter won the award in 2024. Former linebacker great Teddy Lehman is the only Oklahoma Sooners defender to win the award since its inception in 1995.
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