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TITLETOWN - A Decade Long Celebration Of The Greatest Achievement In College Athletics History => Kansas State Football => Topic started by: kcchiefdav on September 01, 2010, 07:01:18 AM

Title: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: kcchiefdav on September 01, 2010, 07:01:18 AM: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0901-daniel-thomas-20100901,0,4096475.story

Kansas State's Daniel Thomas is not a quick study

By David Wharton

The prayer list at Elm Grove Baptist Church includes the name of the pastor's youngest son.

Members gather inside the tidy sanctuary in Georgia to pray that Daniel Thomas stays healthy, that he stays focused.

Lord knows, he needs their help.

On Saturday afternoon, Thomas will line up at running back for Kansas State against UCLA, returning for his senior season as one of the nation's top rushers.

The Bruins' defense, with its revamped front seven, must prove it can stop a runner who has the ability to "keep his pads level and run you over, but he's also elusive," Coach Rick Neuheisel says.

Playing football now comes naturally to Thomas. It's the other part that gets tricky.

No matter how cynical some people feel about the term "student-athlete," the NCAA maintains academic standards that, each fall, effectively end the athletic careers of young men who cannot make the grade. Thomas might have been one of them.

The story of his emergence on the college football scene is a story of persistence, spanning hundreds of miles, no less than three junior colleges and a handful of people — including Thomas — who refused to give up.

"It was a very long trip," he says. "I could write a movie or a book about it."

The saga began in Hilliard, a Florida town just across the border from Georgia, with a family known more for producing clergymen than athletes. Thomas, the youngest of five, did not exactly show promise in midget football.

"I often kid him," said his father, Jerald, the pastor at Elm Grove. "The game was over and he was still sitting on the bench with his mouthpiece in and his helmet on."

Much changed by the time Thomas reached Hilliard High, where he ranked among the school's best athletes. Not sure where to play him, coaches settled on quarterback and he responded with more than 2,000 yards in total offense and 22 touchdowns as a senior.

Those numbers attracted recruiters from Kansas State, Florida and Mississippi, among others, but that's where schoolwork got in the way.

"He took it really lackadaisical," his father said. "He found out that just because you're an athlete, you can't get away with not doing your work."

Failing to qualify, Thomas might have walked away from football if it weren't for a call from Northwest Mississippi Community College.

The coach there had heard about a talented runner from northern Florida and invited him to come west. It was Thomas' first time away from home.

Over the next two years, things went well enough on the field as Thomas played option quarterback once again, earning junior college All-American honors and leading his team to a division championship.

But in the classroom, his attitude had not really changed. He did just enough to receive a degree, not enough to satisfy NCAA requirements.

"Two English classes and a math class I didn't know about," he said.

Enter LHC Bill Snyder, who had returned for a second stint coaching at Kansas State. Snyder has a history of recruiting junior college players and — after looking at Thomas' family, his community, maybe even that prayer group — he wasn't about to quit on Thomas.

"You always have concerns if it's anyone who's had some difficulty," Snyder said. "But once you get to know Daniel, you realize here's a young guy that will get it done."

The coach suggested yet another year of junior college, this time in Kansas. No football, just studying. For Thomas, it might have been the hardest time.

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"He thought about giving up," his father said. "It took much prayer and encouragement."

At some point during those dark months, a light bulb flickered on.

"The door was closing," Thomas said. "I had to buckle down."

Armed with a new sort of determination, he finished his required courses — even took a summer class at Manhattan Christian College, across from Kansas State — and qualified.

Joining the Wildcats in the summer of 2009, Thomas looked at the depth chart and saw his name listed under running back, a position he had never played. But football was the easy part for someone so hungry to get back on the field.

Thomas quickly won a starting role and, in his first two games, gained more than 100 yards against Massachusetts and Louisiana. He later added 185 against Kansas and a four-touchdown performance against Texas A&M.

By season's end, his 1,265 rushing yards put him in the top 25 nationwide and got him on the all-Big 12 Conference team. This fall, his name appears on the watch lists for the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards.

As Neuheisel put it, the 6-foot-2, 228-pound back will be "a great challenge for our defense, especially in Week 1, tackling."

Thomas' history as an option quarterback adds another dimension. Last season, he completed two passes against Oklahoma, which means the Bruins must pay heed when he lines up in the wildcat formation.

But just as important as football, Thomas has devoted himself to attending classes, working hard at his studies, and is on track to graduate with a degree in social sciences this spring.

"The thing I like about him so much is that he has great humility," Snyder said. "He understands the intrinsic values that are necessary to become successful."

Values he learned the hard way. Values he continues to learn.

"I'm a lot more focused," he said. "But I'm still working at it. There's always room for improvement."

And the folks back at Elm Grove are still praying.

[email protected]

twitter.com/LATimesWharton
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: WillieWatanabe on September 01, 2010, 07:15:01 AM: Quote
He understands the intrinsic values that are necessary to become successful.
:love:
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: my troll name ... Koppe22 on September 01, 2010, 08:28:01 AM: Quote from: WillieWannabe on September 01, 2010, 07:15:01 AM
Quote
He understands the intrinsic values that are necessary to become successful.
:love:

3 years of Juco :runaway:
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: Dugout DickStone on September 01, 2010, 08:49:59 AM: Tremendous underdog story the whole country can follow. :love:
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: Rage Against the McKee on September 01, 2010, 08:57:14 AM: I would have loved the irony had the LA Times spelled "Daniel" the same way that you did. Unfortunately, they did not.
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: Belvis Noland on September 01, 2010, 09:12:19 AM: Wasn't Thomas recruited by Prince? Not that it matters. I just like pointing out inaccuracies.
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: Trim on September 01, 2010, 09:29:58 AM: Janssen: "Daniel Thomas' parents are EMAWsome"

Quote
Thomas' parents, Jerald and Louella, saw only the Iowa State game in person, but watched the Wildcats at every opportunity on television.

Referring to the Kansas game, but adding it happened frequently, Reverend Thomas said, "His momma was dancing on the bed and we had chips and dips all over the place. We were something to behold."
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: 'taterblast on September 01, 2010, 10:18:48 AM: Quote from: Trim on September 01, 2010, 09:29:58 AM
Janssen: "Daniel Thomas' parents are EMAWsome"

Quote

Referring to the Kansas game, but adding it happened frequently, Reverend Thomas said, "His momma was dancing on the bed and we had chips and dips all over the place. We were something to behold."
:pbj: :kstatriot:
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: cas4ksu on September 01, 2010, 10:43:59 AM: America's Team folks...
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: steve dave on September 01, 2010, 10:44:51 AM: His parents seem f'ing adorable
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: deputy dawg on September 01, 2010, 11:31:57 AM: Wonder if defensive players will think he looks stupid as they look up from turf?
:powerespect:
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: KSUTOMMY on September 01, 2010, 11:41:07 AM: ucla's inexperienced defense =

DominaTion

:lynchmob:
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: Lynch on September 01, 2010, 01:39:58 PM: Good and Bad about this story

Good: Great F'ing article. DT is a true joy to watch. One of those guys even the blue hairs can say "He worked for it, he deserves it" ya know?

BAD: WHY in the hell can't any of our writers put together anything of quality like this? Instead we get "Chase Coffman is better, but still not great" articles. Whoopdy freaking DO.
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: yoga-like_abana on September 01, 2010, 01:50:35 PM: Quote from: Lynch on September 01, 2010, 01:39:58 PM
Good and Bad about this story

Good: Great F'ing article. DT is a true joy to watch. One of those guys even the blue hairs can say "He worked for it, he deserves it" ya know?

BAD: WHY in the hell can't any of our writers put together anything of quality like this? Instead we get "Chase Coffman is better, but still not great" articles. Whoopdy freaking DO.

They are really doing a terrible job if they are writing about Chase Coffman.
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: Lynch on September 01, 2010, 01:52:16 PM: Quote from: yoga-like_abana on September 01, 2010, 01:50:35 PM
Quote from: Lynch on September 01, 2010, 01:39:58 PM
Good and Bad about this story

Good: Great F'ing article. DT is a true joy to watch. One of those guys even the blue hairs can say "He worked for it, he deserves it" ya know?

BAD: WHY in the hell can't any of our writers put together anything of quality like this? Instead we get "Chase Coffman is better, but still not great" articles. Whoopdy freaking DO.

They are really doing a terrible job if they are writing about Chase Coffman.

http://goEMAW.com/forum/index.php?topic=5771.0

Yes Yes they are!
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: SwiftCat on September 01, 2010, 02:19:39 PM: Quote
"we had chips and dips all over the place"

This needs to be come a new emaw phrase.
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: OK_Cat on September 01, 2010, 02:28:22 PM: On the front: goEMAW the eff up!

on the back: We had chips and dips all over the place"
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: SwiftCat on September 01, 2010, 02:29:43 PM: Quote from: OK_Cat on September 01, 2010, 02:28:22 PM
On the front: goEMAW the shazbot! up!

on the back: We had chips and dips all over the place"

_FAN. Can you get on this pls?
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: mcmwcat on September 01, 2010, 02:42:44 PM: Quote from: Belvis Noland on September 01, 2010, 09:12:19 AM
Wasn't Thomas recruited by Prince? Not that it matters. I just like pointing out inaccuracies.

correct. schnides got him qualified which was probably the greater achievement
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: kougar24 on September 01, 2010, 03:49:36 PM: Quote from: SwiftCat on September 01, 2010, 02:19:39 PM

Quote
"we had chips and dips all over the place"

This needs to be come a new emaw phrase.

Christ, you're right. Could this be the football version of "Bucketization" or "That just happened"?
Title: Re: LA Times: "Danial Thomas is stupid"
Post by: 'taterblast on September 01, 2010, 11:38:34 PM: i'll pile on.

this chips and dips thing has major potential.