Anthony Thomas (American football)

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Anthony Thomas

Free Agent — No. --
Running back
Date of birth: November 7, 1977 (1977-11-07) (age 30)
Place of birth: Winnfield, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Weight: 221 lb (100 kg)
National Football League debut
2001 for the Chicago Bears
Career history
College: Michigan
NFL Draft: 2001 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38
Teams: Chicago Bears (2001-2004) Dallas Cowboys (2005) New Orleans Saints (2005) Buffalo Bills (2006-2007)
Career highlights and awards
2x Citrus Bowl MVP (1999, 2001) AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2001)
Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season)
Rushing yards	3,891
Rushing average	3.7
Rushing TDs	23
Stats at NFL.com

Anthony Jermaine Thomas (born November 7, 1977 in Winnfield, Louisiana) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan.

As a rookie with the Bears in 2001, rushed for over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns to earn the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. He has also played for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills in his career.

[edit] High school career

At Winnfield Senior High School, he starred on the basketball, track, and football teams. He set a state record with 106 career touchdowns while playing both running back and placekicker. He was named a first-team All-American and rated as the second-best running back in the country by the Prep Football Report.

[edit] College career

Before entering the professional ranks, Thomas played college football at University of Michigan. As a freshman in 1997, he contributed to the Wolverines' 12-0 national championship season. In his stellar collegiate career (1997-2000), Thomas set school records for rushing yards (4,472) and touchdowns (56). His record for rushing yards was broken seven years later by Mike Hart, as shown in the following chart:

^[1]

Thomas also ranks second in school history in rushing yards in a single season with 1,703 yards in 2000:

^[2]

[edit] Professional career

Thomas was selected in the second round (38th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Nicknamed "A-Train" due to his power-running style, he powered his way to 1,183 rushing yards and the NFL Rookie of the Year Award. With the emergence of Thomas Jones in Chicago, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 as the backup running back to Julius Jones. Thomas' ineffectiveness in limited duty, his inability to play special teams, and the emergence of Marion Barber III as the primary backup led Dallas to release him in November 2005. He was quickly signed by New Orleans after they lost Deuce McAllister with a season ending knee injury, and split rushing duties with Aaron Stecker. On April 28, 2006, Thomas signed with the Buffalo Bills.

[edit] See also

• Lists of Michigan Wolverines football rushing leaders
• Lists of Michigan Wolverines football receiving leaders

[edit] References

1. ^ Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page. Regents of the University of Michigan (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
2. ^ Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page. Regents of the University of Michigan (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-06.

[edit] External links

• Anthony Thomas gets second chance with the Saints (wwltv.com)