Vorlage:Infobox NFLactive Demaryius Antwon Thomas (born December 25, 1987 in Montrose, Georgia) is an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Thomas led the team in receiving in all 3 of his seasons at Tech, 2007, 2008, and 2009. He was selected by the Broncos with the 22nd overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.[1]
Early life
Thomas was born on December 25, 1987 to parents Bobby Thomas and Katina in Vorlage:City-state. He attended West Laurens High School where he played basketball and football as a wide receiver. As a junior in 2004, he recorded 32 receptions for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Thomas was named an all-region and all-Heart of Georgia player. The following season, he recorded 56 receptions for 756 yards and seven touchdowns. After the season, he participated in the North-South All-Star game. Thomas was again selected as an all-region and all-Heart of Georgia, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution named him to its Class AA all-state first team and PrepStar to its All-Region team. Scout.com assessed him as the 22nd-ranked college prospect in the state of Georgia, and Rivals.com rated him the 34th-ranked such prospect.[2] He received scholarship offers from Duke, Georgia, and Georgia Tech.[3]
College career
He chose to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology where he majored in management.[2] Thomas sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt. In 2007, he saw action in all 13 games including 10 starts, and recorded 35 receptions for 558 yards to rank as the leading Georgia Tech receiver by a wide margin. In the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl, he made four receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown. The Sporting News named Thomas to its freshman All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) first team and a freshman All-America honorable mention.[2]
In 2008, Paul Johnson was hired as the head coach and implemented the run-heavy triple option offense. Thomas considered transferring but decided against it.[4] During the season, he recorded 39 receptions for 627 yards and three touchdowns as the leading receiver.[2] Despite being a heavily run-oriented system, as one of the team's few experienced players, Thomas recorded relatively high numbers.[5] Still, compared with other receivers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, such as leader D. J. Boldin of Wake Forest, Thomas' statistics were much smaller. He said, "Sometimes I think about [not getting many passes], but most of the time I just want to win."[4] Thomas' mark was the best of any wide receiver from the school since Calvin Johnson in 2006. Against Duke, he caught nine receptions for 230 yards, the second-most in a single-game in school history.[2] Many draft experts had him gaining momentum with NFL scouts going into the last couple weeks leading up to the draft and most had him as the number one or two-rated wide receiver in the 2010 NFL Draft, including Sporting News[6]. On January 8, 2010, he declared his entrance to the 2010 NFL Draft.[7]
Professional career
Thomas was drafted by the Denver Broncos 22nd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the first wide receiver taken in the draft.
References
External links
- Jonathan Heeter, Former rivals enjoying their time as teammates, The Macon Telegraph, November 18, 2007.
- ↑ http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/teams/_/team/den/year/2010/denver-broncos
- ↑ a b c d e Player Bio: Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech, retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ↑ Demaryius Thomas, Scout.com, retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ↑ a b LOVE THE ASSIST; Receivers embrace downfield blocking in Tech’s run offense, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 30, 2008.
- ↑ Tedd Bauer and William Hupp, COLLEGE FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT: GENERATION GAP AND DEMARYIUS THOMAS; What of age gaps in college football? And how good can Georgia Tech's WR be?, ESPN The Magazine, October 28, 2008.
- ↑ http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/draft/position_rankings?position=WR
- ↑ http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010810aab.html