After a quiet morning and beginning to Wednesday’s signing period, Oklahoma is about to make some noise and did it emphatically to start its afternoon.

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons defensive end R Mason Thomas announced he has flipped his commitment from Iowa State to the Sooners and signed with OU at a school ceremony Wednesday afternoon.

It came down to OU, Iowa State and Miami. The Sooners and Hurricanes each had official visits from Thomas in the last two weeks, and Thomas had been committed to the Cyclones since July.

He’s not exactly the definition of the diamond in the rough OU first-year head coach Brent Venables was talking about in December, but it was a quality job by the OU staff to be able to turn Thomas in such a short period of time.

The Sooners were hoping to pull off the double at Cardinal Gibbons with defensive tackle Ahmad Moten as well, but Moten elected to stay home and chose Miami. Thomas was always adamant that the duo wasn’t a package deal. Turns out, they indeed were not.

Following the initial signing period in December, you knew the Sooners were going to look to defense. Breaking it down even more, you need the defensive line had to be a point of emphasis, and that’s where someone like Thomas started to catch their eye.

With his size and skill set, it will be intriguing to see what Venables and the rest of the defensive staff decide will be the best way to utilize what Thomas brings to the table.

OU began the day with longtime commitment Gentry Williams signing with zero drama, and the Sooners had been patiently waiting for the afternoon hours to strike.

It begins with Thomas, but there’s no doubt there will be more to come as OU put in the work last month with official visits to boost the defensive class.