Joe Thomas (American football)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Cleveland Browns — No. 73 | |
| Offensive tackle | |
| Date of birth: December 4, 1984 | |
| Place of birth: Brookfield, Wisconsin | |
| Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | Weight: 313 lb (142 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
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| 2007 for the Cleveland Browns | |
| Career history | |
| College: Wisconsin | |
| NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 | |
Teams:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Joe Thomas (born on December 4, 1984 in Brookfield, Wisconsin) is an American football offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns. He was selected to the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl, the first Browns left tackle selected to the Pro Bowl since Doug Dieken in 1980.
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[edit] High school career
He played right tackle, defensive end, tight end, fullback, placekicker and punter.
He was listed among the top 20 offensive tackles nationally, a PrepStar All-American, second-team All-America offensive guard according to USA Today, member of Detroit Free Press All-Midwest team, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first-team all-state defensive lineman and second-team all-state offensive guard as a junior, and also received first-team all-state honors at DE from Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and Associated Press. He was also a great defensive player winning the WFCA 2002 Defensive Player of the Year. He had 85 tackles and 12 sacks as a senior. As a junior, he had 70 tackles and 8 sacks. He was listed as the third best prospect in the state of Wisconsin in 2003. In track and field, Thomas of Brookfield Central set the state record for shotput.
Aside from his athletic prowess, Thomas performed well academically. He was a 4-year honor roll student and a part of the U.S. Army Academic All-America team and played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Notre Dame vied for his recruitment before he signed his letter of intent to Wisconsin in January 2003.
[edit] College career
As a true freshman that fall, he mostly saw action as a blocking tight end. In 2004, he started all 12 games at left tackle, helping the Badgers' ground game with Anthony Davis and Matt Bernstein in the backfield.
In 2005, Barry Alvarez's final season, he started all 13 games at left tackle and was named a first team All-American by Pro Football Weekly. He blocked for Brian Calhoun, who had a monster year, racking up 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards. Thomas considered declaring for the 2006 NFL Draft, where he was projected among the top 15 picks (and projected as the second offensive lineman behind Virginia prospect D'Brickashaw Ferguson). The Badgers were invited to the Capital One Bowl against Auburn, where they prevailed 24-10. Unfortunately, Thomas tore his ACL playing Defensive End because of injuries to other players at the position. The Badgers finished that season 10-3 with a #15 Nat'l Ranking. Soon after the game, Thomas announced that he would be returning to Wisconsin for his final year.
His senior season in 2006 began with high expectations. He was named a preseason All-American, and was on the watch lists for several postseason awards, including the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy. As the offensive captain, he started all 13 games and blocked for P. J. Hill, Jr., who racked up over 1,500 yards on the ground.
Following the regular season, Thomas won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman (includes both offense and defense). The Associated Press awarded him placement on its All-American first team at tackle, along with Michigan's Jake Long. Thomas was a consensus 2006 All-American selection.
Thomas and the Badgers were again invited to the Capital One Bowl, this time against Arkansas. The Badgers prevailed 17-14 and finished the season 12-1, a school record for wins in a single season.
Thomas also excelled at shot-put for the Badgers' track and field team.
He was a business major.
[edit] Pro career
The Cleveland Browns drafted Thomas in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft (3rd overall) to fill a dire need on the team's offensive line. The Thomas pick ended much speculation that the Browns would choose other players including former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn with the 3rd overall pick in the draft, whom they traded up to get later with the 22nd pick of the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Instead of attending the 2007 draft festivities in New York, Thomas chose to continue a family tradition and go fishing on Lake Michigan with his father. He found out he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns by cell phone. [1].
Thomas signed a 5-year contract worth $43 million, $23 million guaranteed, with the Browns. Thomas won the starting left tackle job, with previous Browns left tackle Kevin Shaffer moving to right tackle. He made his NFL debut versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 1 and played every offensive snap for the Browns in 2007. Thomas quickly became one of the top-performing members of the '07 draft class and was named the NFL's Rookie of the Month for November. Thomas was selected to the 2008 Pro Bowl, replacing Jason Peters of the Buffalo Bills.
Thomas came in second in the voting for NFL Rookie of the Year. He was the only other person to receive votes other than the eventual winner, Adrian Peterson.
[edit] Personal
Thomas has been named a Co-Host of Outdoors With D'Arcy Egan on SportsTime Ohio.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Greg Eslinger |
Outland Trophy Winner 2006 |
Succeeded by Glenn Dorsey |
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