As they have in the past, Solomon Thomas’ parents, Chris and Martha, will sit with Christian McCraffey’s parents, Ed and Lisa, when their sons play a football game in the Bay Area on Sunday.

This, however, will be different.

Solomon and Christian were once teammates, roommates and tightly bonded buddies with shared goals.

On Sunday, Solomon will try to crush Christian.

“I do think,” Chris Thomas said, “that it will be odd.”

And awkward — although Martha Thomas insisted it won’t get antagonistic with Lisa and Ed, a former NFL wide receiver: “We agreed to cheer for each other’s kid.”

Ten months after Thomas, the 49ers’ rookie defensive tackle and No. 3 pick, last played together at Stanford with McCaffrey, the Panthers’ rookie running back and No. 8 pick, they will reconnect on opposite sides in the season opener at Levi’s Stadium.

Well, actually, about them reconnecting: They have stayed in contact for years.

Their friendship formed in high school when Solomon was in Dallas and Christian was in Denver. They bonded as seniors who played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January 2014. Months later, based on their instant connection, Thomas visited McCaffrey in Colorado during a ski trip.

In college, they were teammates for three seasons and spent their final year living together with three other friends in an on-campus suite. And, as NFL players, only their locations have changed.

Last week, Thomas’ older sister, Ella, visited her brother and occasionally checked in with their mom.

“I’d say ‘So what’s Solomon doing?” Martha said. “And it would be ‘Oh, he’s FaceTiming with Christian.’”

Given their bond, it was fitting that Thomas and McCaffrey stayed close together — selected just five spots apart — in the NFL draft.

At Stanford, McCaffrey won the Paul Hornung Award, given to college football’s most versatile player, and set the FBS season record for all-purpose yards (3,864). Thomas won the Morris Trophy, given to the Pac-12’s best lineman, and his draft stock soared with a sensational performance in the Sun Bowl in December.

McCaffrey didn’t play in the bowl game to avoid an injury that would affect his draft stock, and his decision inspired criticism. In the immediate aftermath of McCaffrey’s decision, Thomas posted a message to McCaffrey on his Instagram account, below of a picture of them together during a game. The message began: “To the best teammate, roommate, and brother I could have asked for, thank you.” And it ended with this: “Love you forever.”

Thomas also called McCaffrey the “hardest worker” he’d known, but McCaffrey had competition for that distinction at Stanford. Niners vice president of player personnel Adam Peters said Thomas and McCaffrey were discussed together among Stanford’s coaches before the draft.

“Solomon and Christian McCaffrey are talked about at Stanford in the same breath as being alpha leaders, the hardest workers on the team, love football and do all the little things to get better,” Peters said. “And they bring everyone else along.”

And their matchup Sunday will bring out plenty of people to see them.

Among them is Stanford head coach David Shaw, whose team will play against USC in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Shaw will be at Levi’s Stadium for pregame warm-ups Sunday morning and will watch at least part of the first half.

“I know Solomon is excited because he’s never been able to tackle Christian; we wouldn’t let him in practice,” Shaw said. “He’s excited for the first time tackling one of his best friends. I’m sure Christian is very eager to break that tackle. It’s a big moment for Stanford football.”

At Stanford, McCaffrey was treated like a quarterback in practice, with a don’t-you-dare-touch sticker practically affixed to his jersey.

Given that, Thomas and McCaffrey’s biggest confrontations might have come during their uber-competitive Connect Four tournaments, instead of the practice field.

“It will be fun to finally get to hit him,” Thomas said. “So if I get that chance, I’ve got to take advantage of it.”

It won’t be easy. As 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh noted, McCaffrey is a “shifty little sucker.” For his part, McCaffrey, who, at 205, is outweighed by Thomas by more than 60 pounds, said he wasn’t exactly looking forward to their first on-field meeting (“I’m sure it won’t feel great.”) He also joked that Thomas understood he was not to be touched.

“I told him it’s the same rule” as at Stanford, McCaffrey said to the Charlotte-area media. “So hopefully, he believes it.”

On Sunday, Thomas’ parents and McCaffrey’s parents will watch the game together from the suite of Darin and Carol Jones, whose son, Craig, was a linebacker at Stanford. After the game, Chris, Martha, Lisa and Ed plan to have dinner.

Four years ago, the couples were together when Solomon and Christian took their official visits to Stanford and received good news: “We were told by coach Shaw at the same time: ‘I want to tell you that your sons have both been accepted,’” Martha said.

They were together when their sons’ college careers began.

And they’ll be together when their NFL careers start Sunday.

It’s a moment they began anticipating shortly after their sons became top-10 draft picks April 27.

“As we realized the schedule,” Martha said, “we all felt like ‘Oh, wow. This is amazing.’”