Earl Thomas
Earl Winty Thomas III is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and received consensus All-American honors and played in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. He left after his redshirt sophomore year and he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. During his time with the Seahawks, he made six Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams as he was a core member of the Legion of Boom defense, winning Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos and starting in Super Bowl XLIX. After nine seasons with Seattle, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent and played one season while earning his seventh Pro Bowl invite.
Early life
Thomas attended West Orange-Stark High School in Orange, Texas, where he played for the West Orange-Stark Mustangs high school football team, and also lettered in basketball, baseball and track and field. While there, he was an all-state selection and three-year starter at defensive back, running back and wide receiver. He recorded 112 career tackles with 11 interceptions, two kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns, while also having 1,850 rushing yards and 2,140 receiving yards in his career.Thomas was on the school's track & field team, where he competed as a sprinter and jumper, and was a member of the 4 × 200 meters relay team that reached the state finals, at 1:27.92. He finished second in the long jump at the 2007 Region 3-3A Meet, with a personal-best mark of 7.14 meters.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Thomas was ranked as the No. 12 athlete in 2007.
College career
Thomas attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2007 to 2009. After redshirting his first year at Texas, Thomas started all 13 games at strong safety for the Longhorns in 2008, and ranked second on the team with 63 combined tackles and 17 pass breakups, the most ever by a Longhorn freshman. He also had two interceptions, four forced fumbles, and a blocked kick. Thomas subsequently earned multiple All-Freshman honors, as he was named to FWAA's Freshman All-America team, Sporting News′ Freshman All-American team, College Football News′ All-Freshman first-team, and Rivals.com's Freshman All-America team.As a redshirt sophomore in 2009, Thomas intercepted eight passes, returning two of them for touchdowns. Thomas was a consensus first-team All-American, named to the first-team All-Big 12 team and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. The Longhorns were undefeated in the regular season and Thomas played in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game where they lost to Alabama. Thomas chose to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at Texas to declare for the 2010 NFL draft where he was the third defensive back taken after Eric Berry and Joe Haden.
Professional career
Pre-draft
On January 8, 2010, Thomas released a statement through the University of Texas which announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but chose to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. On March 31, 2010, he participated at Texas' pro day and improved his 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. Thomas sustained a hamstring injury during his workout and was unable to complete his entire performance.He attended pre-draft visits and private workouts with multiple teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Thomas was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top safety in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, was ranked the second best safety by NFL analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and ESPN Scouts Inc., and was ranked the second best cornerback prospect by DraftScout.com.
Seattle Seahawks
2010
The Seattle Seahawks selected Thomas in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. Thomas was the second safety drafted in 2010, behind Eric Berry. At age 20, he was one of the youngest players eligible for the draft.On July 31, 2010, the Seahawks signed Thomas to a five-year, $18.30 million contract that includes $11.75 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $500,000.
Head coach Pete Carroll named Thomas the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Lawyer Milloy. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Seattle Seahawks' season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers and recorded seven combined tackles in their 31–6 victory. On September 26, 2010, Thomas made six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and two interceptions during a 27–20 victory against the San Diego Chargers in Week 3. Thomas made his first career interception off a pass by Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers, that was originally intended for tight end Antonio Gates, and returned it for a 34-yard gain in the fourth quarter. On November 14, 2010, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles in the Seahawks' 36–18 victory at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10. In Week 12, Thomas collected eight combined tackles and returned a blocked punt for the first touchdown of his career during a 42–24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Thomas recovered a blocked punt that Kennard Cox blocked by Dustin Colquitt and returned it for a ten-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Thomas started all 16 games during his rookie season in 2010 and recorded 76 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, five interceptions, and a forced fumble.
The Seattle Seahawks finished first in the NFC West with a 7–9 record and earned a playoff berth. On January 9, 2011, Thomas started in his first career playoff game and recorded eight solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 41–36 victory against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC wild-card round. The following week, he made four solo tackles as the Seahawks lost 35–24 at the Chicago Bears in the NFC divisional round.
2011
Thomas entered training camp slated as the starting free safety. Head coach Pete Carroll named Thomas and Kam Chancellor the starting safeties to begin the regular season.In Week 8, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles during a 34–12 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The following week, Thomas recorded a season-high eight solo tackles in the Seahawks' 23–13 loss at the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9. On December 27, 2011, it was announced that Thomas was selected to play in the 2012 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. Kam Chancellor and Brandon Browner were also selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl. He finished the season with 98 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, two interceptions, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 16 starts. Thomas was named second-team All-Pro and was ranked 66th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.
2012
Thomas and Kam Chancellor returned as the Seahawks' starting safety duo. On November 4, 2012, Thomas collected a season-high seven combined tackles and deflected a pass during a 30–20 victory against the Minnesota Viking in Week 9. The following week, he tied his season-high of seven combined tackles as the Seahawks defeated the New York Jets 28–7 in Week 10. On December 16, 2012, Thomas recorded five combined tackles, broke up a pass, and had the first pick six of his career during a 50–17 win at the Buffalo Bills in Week 15. Thomas intercepted a pass by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, that was originally intended for tight end Scott Chandler, and returned it for a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter. On December 26, 2012, it was announced that Thomas was selected to the 2013 Pro Bowl and was the sole member of the Seahawks' defense to be selected in 2012. Thomas started in 16 games in 2012 and recorded 66 combined tackles, nine pass deflections, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and one touchdown. On January 2, he was selected to the 2013 All-Pro Team.The Seattle Seahawks finished second in the NFC West with an 11–5 record and earned a Wild Card berth. On January 6, 2013, Thomas started in the NFC Wild Card Round and made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Robert Griffin III during the Seahawks' 24–14 victory over the Washington Redskins. The following week, he recorded four combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by Matt Ryan in a 30–28 loss at the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Round. He was ranked 66th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.
2013
The Seattle Seahawks' new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn retained Thomas and Kam Chancellor as the starting safeties and Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner as the starting cornerbacks after Gus Bradley accepted the head coaching position with the Jacksonville Jaguars.In Week 4, he recorded seven solo tackles, deflected a pass, made an interception, and forced a fumble during a 23–20 win at the Houston Texans in Week 4. On October 28, 2013, Thomas collected a season-high ten solo tackles and made one pass deflection during a 14–9 victory at the St. Louis Rams in Week 9. The following week, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles in the Seahawks' 27–24 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10. On December 27, 2013, it was announced that Thomas was selected to the 2014 Pro Bowl, but was later replaced by Antrel Rolle due to his participation in Super Bowl XLVIII. Thomas started in all 16 games and recorded a career-high 105 combined tackles., nine pass deflections, five interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He earned First Team All-Pro honors for the second consecutive season. He finished third in voting for AP Defensive Player of the Year.
The Seattle Seahawks finished first in the NFC West with a 13–3 record and earned a first round bye. On January 11, 2014, Thomas recorded 11 combined tackles and broke up two passes as the Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints 23–15 in the Divisional Round. The following week, they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 23–17 in the NFC Championship Game. On February 2, 2014, Thomas started in Super Bowl XLVIII and made seven combined tackles and a pass deflection during a 43–8 victory against the Denver Broncos. He was ranked 17th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.