Thomas Knows About a Title

For Oklahoma freshman defensive end Isaiah Thomas his football career at Tulsa Memorial was an undeniable success. Going from little known at the end of his junior season to one of the state's top prospects before the completion of his junior school year, Thomas saw his recruitment soar. His play only improved as a senior, a year that was capped by being selected as a U.S. Army All-American.

However, on the field, Thomas' Chargers finished 4-5 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

But that isn't to say that he is unfamiliar with winning at his highest possible level after he helped lead the the powerhouse Chargers basketball team to their second straight state championship game, and third straight deep run into the playoffs. Unlike the previous two years Memorial ended without a heartbreaking loss to Carl Albert, instead leveling Claremore for a championship.

"It was a a great spring, a strong to finish the year I definitely don’t regret that I didn’t graduate early because we won a state championship (and) graduated. Everything happens for a reason and I’m pretty excited with how the semester ended," Thomas said earlier this summer.

"It meant a lot, knowing how the previous years ended with us losing on a buzzer beater to the same team. We played against a different team and were down by five at half time and came back and ended up winning by 28 or so. The whole city was there, school was amazing, we celebrated how big of a win it was. We got our championship rings and it meant more because we were seniors and going off to college.

"I put the run up on a shelf. It makes me more excited to go to OU because Oklahoma has a lot more in store for me."

Thomas is a long and athletic edge rusher who has begun to fill out a frame that looked, for much of his high school career, more that of a power forward than as a major college defensive lineman. At the Army Bowl in January he showed some of his weight gain and looked the part with some of the nation's best.

But after National Signing Day he continued to work with Oklahoma's own workout plan for him and it's helped him continue to fill out as he begins his career under Calvin Thibodeaux.

"I haven’t weighed myself too much, I know I’ve gained a lot, I’ve been eating more and working out more," he admitted.

"I stayed in contact with Mike Stoops and coach Thibs, not as much because they need to have that 2018 class rolling but we talk(ed) about working and what to expect when I get there. And they let me know how valuable I am to them.

"[They told me] if I go in big enough, a nice size I can work with and do great in the summer, have a great weight going into the season and if I could hold my own I could end up as a second string defensive end in the rotation. They’ve got (D.J.) Ward at one spot and as you know, you can’t play a whole college football game anymore. You get exhausted and you need a break, they were saying I could get into the rotation as a freshman."

Thomas will be rooming with fellow freshman pass rusher K'Jakyre Daley and the two have a natural fit according to Thomas. But from what Thomas had to say any of his 2017 classmates were going to be a near ideal fit for him.

"(Daley and I), we’re real comfortable with each other," Thomas said. "The 2017 class has been great, we always talk in that group message. I thought when the guys went down there early they might lose contact but we still talk(ed) like they aren’t down there yet. We’re a close knit bunch, there is no better class with just how close we are, no matter what happened."

Thomas, who obviously is already inundated in Norman said players like Justin Broiles, Creed Humphrey, Levi Draper, and others made it possible for him to know what life would be like in Norman even before he was calling Norman, Okla. home.

And one might be able to guess which player told him to not be afraid to put the spotlight on himself.

"They told me workouts are pretty tough and that wasn’t even summer workouts yet. They just said come out here and get your name out there, don’t just fly under the radar. Don’t let anyone dog you, stand up for yourself, don’t let anything happen to you – act like you’re a big dog and eventually you’ll get your name out there."