As Oklahoma football quarterback John Mateer underwent hand surgery and will miss a significant amount of time, there is no denying that the team will have to rely on other areas to be successful. Despite the title odds for the Oklahoma football team dropping, defensive lineman Mason Thomas negates any notion that the program doesn't have any determination to prove the doubters wrong.
While the defense will be a main focus of improvement for the Sooners, Thomas has been a star for the team, even just recently recording two sacks in the victory over the Auburn Tigers last Saturday. He would say ahead of the next game against Kent State that the defense “just got dogs,” according to On3 Sports.
“We’ve just got dogs,” Thomas said. “We don’t want to be having any cats. All dogs.”
Venables would talk about how the defense succeeded last game with a light box, putting the faith on his front seven to provide pressure as is, leading to the opponent's running game waning.
“We played in the second half with a really light box,” Venables said. “Even though it was a one-score game, they were trying to run the ball. And we continued to stop the run with a light box.”
“Note to self,” Venables continued.
Oklahoma football is looking to keep the ship afloat without John Mateer
While people are wondering how Mateer's injury will affect the chances of the Oklahoma football team, Thomas would once again reiterate that the “competitive depth” of the defense will hold their own.
“We’ve just got — how do you put it? — competitive depth,” Thomas said. “Everybody’s trying to get on the field to make plays…We’ve got some dogs.”
Now, it will be Michael Hawkins Jr. at quarterback, as the sophomore quarterback will try to fill in the void of Mateer, as Venables spoke about how he has “grown and matured,” according to On3 Sports.
“He’s just grown and matured like all players,” Venables said Wednesday. “The more they play, the better they get, typically. This is a developmental game. Mike’s worked hard at his craft, he’s got great self-awareness, and he’s attacked everything since the end of last season. Really, since January, here we are eight and a half months into it, and he’s really worked on the basics.”
The No. 7 Sooners take on Kent State on Saturday.
