Where things left off with Deontre Thomas
No name tag needed here. Deontre Thomas has been part of this conversation on the Husker D-line since the fall camp of 2017.
You may prefer to not revisit that season at all, but it's worth reminding Thomas was thrown into the fire almost immediately after his arrival. It was both a credit to Thomas and a nod to Nebraska's lack of D-line bodies at the time. He was out there playing as an undersized nose tackle as a true freshman. And we're not just talking about taking up snaps in November because injuries forced the issue. He had three tackles in each of his first three games that season. He was out there in the fourth quarter of a one-score game at Oregon in the second week of his college career.
You know what? He wasn't too shabby all things considered.
He was 265 pounds that year playing one of the toughest spots on the football field. "I think I was handling my own ... but you can’t be that small," he said last spring, looking back at how it all started for him as a Husker.
Since then, it has been about making steady growth in his size and strength, while switching to an end spot that better fits him. And patience. Better have that. Because after getting up to 280 pounds, Thomas injured his hand four games into 2018. He got back to practicing that season with a cast, but it was prudently decided to just use the redshirt on him after most of the season got away.
It might have been a break, allowing Thomas to get the year of eligibility back he had sort of lost by plugging a hole while out of position his first year in Lincoln. And, as the camp of 2019 began, Thomas was doing enough good things that made his new D-line coach Tony Tuioti say, “He’s very light on his feet, he’s very explosive, he’s got built-in leverage. He’s hard to block. He’s got some Aaron Donald-type built-in leverage and he uses that to his advantage. He’s got very powerful. Strong hands, too.”
Don't get too lost in the Aaron Donald name popping up there, since he's one of the best at his craft in the world. It felt more like a position coach saying Thomas had a beginner's set of those tools you need. Thomas climbed in the spring of 2019 to get himself at least in the mix with the Davis twins, Darrion and Damion Daniels, and Ben Stille.
“I felt like the top five guys were at a different tier and I think Deontre has really worked himself to make sure he’s in that tier,” Tuioti said then. By that point, Thomas was pushing toward 300 pounds, benching 450 and squatting 650.
The breakout season didn't come yet. He finished with 19 tackles with the Davis twins and Darrion Daniels and Stille getting the lion's share of reps. But Thomas did have five tackles against Northern Illinois, and when thrown into a bigger role against Wisconsin, he had four stops and a TFL.
Now the Davis twins are gone, and so is big Darrion. When considering Thomas as someone who might move into more snaps, it's worth mention that someone like Khalil Davis didn't burst into a more prominent place on the team until he was a fourth-year junior. It works like that in the trenches not only sometimes, but plenty of times.
"I told the guys the other day, 'This is a chance for us to see who can step up.' These guys have been waiting for their opportunity ... and now their opportunity is there," Tuioti said in March.
Furthermore, Tuioti said then he felt good about what he has in Ty Robinson, Thomas, Stille, Damion Daniels, Jordon Riley and Casey Rogers heading into the spring. He also pointed out something important for someone like Thomas: He actually has the same position coach for back-to-back years now. His first three years, it was a different guy in charge of the room every season.
Different names will eat up the snaps than a year before, but that doesn't mean defensive coordinator Erik Chinander or Tuioti moved into 2020 thinking that position group is going to take a step back.
"Aah, I don't know," Chinander said at the start of spring. "I don't know about the drop off. I know we've got kids that we really like that we recruited, that have done a great job since they've been here. Could there be a drop off? Sure. Could there be improvement? Sure. Could it be the same? Sure. But I like the group we've got and I'm very encouraged by watching them so far."
In the case of Deontre Thomas, we already know him, but what he'll be battling for when football returns is to make his fourth season at Nebraska the first season we really get to see him.
"I think for our young guys it's kind of like the perfect storm," said Tuioti, "where we do miss a lot of guys (from 2019), but they know they want to have a chance to represent the University of Nebraska the right way."
No name tag needed here. Deontre Thomas has been part of this conversation on the Husker D-line since the fall camp of 2017.
You may prefer to not revisit that season at all, but it's worth reminding Thomas was thrown into the fire almost immediately after his arrival. It was both a credit to Thomas and a nod to Nebraska's lack of D-line bodies at the time. He was out there playing as an undersized nose tackle as a true freshman. And we're not just talking about taking up snaps in November because injuries forced the issue. He had three tackles in each of his first three games that season. He was out there in the fourth quarter of a one-score game at Oregon in the second week of his college career.
You know what? He wasn't too shabby all things considered.
He was 265 pounds that year playing one of the toughest spots on the football field. "I think I was handling my own ... but you can’t be that small," he said last spring, looking back at how it all started for him as a Husker.
Since then, it has been about making steady growth in his size and strength, while switching to an end spot that better fits him. And patience. Better have that. Because after getting up to 280 pounds, Thomas injured his hand four games into 2018. He got back to practicing that season with a cast, but it was prudently decided to just use the redshirt on him after most of the season got away.
It might have been a break, allowing Thomas to get the year of eligibility back he had sort of lost by plugging a hole while out of position his first year in Lincoln. And, as the camp of 2019 began, Thomas was doing enough good things that made his new D-line coach Tony Tuioti say, “He’s very light on his feet, he’s very explosive, he’s got built-in leverage. He’s hard to block. He’s got some Aaron Donald-type built-in leverage and he uses that to his advantage. He’s got very powerful. Strong hands, too.”
Don't get too lost in the Aaron Donald name popping up there, since he's one of the best at his craft in the world. It felt more like a position coach saying Thomas had a beginner's set of those tools you need. Thomas climbed in the spring of 2019 to get himself at least in the mix with the Davis twins, Darrion and Damion Daniels, and Ben Stille.
“I felt like the top five guys were at a different tier and I think Deontre has really worked himself to make sure he’s in that tier,” Tuioti said then. By that point, Thomas was pushing toward 300 pounds, benching 450 and squatting 650.
The breakout season didn't come yet. He finished with 19 tackles with the Davis twins and Darrion Daniels and Stille getting the lion's share of reps. But Thomas did have five tackles against Northern Illinois, and when thrown into a bigger role against Wisconsin, he had four stops and a TFL.
Now the Davis twins are gone, and so is big Darrion. When considering Thomas as someone who might move into more snaps, it's worth mention that someone like Khalil Davis didn't burst into a more prominent place on the team until he was a fourth-year junior. It works like that in the trenches not only sometimes, but plenty of times.
"I told the guys the other day, 'This is a chance for us to see who can step up.' These guys have been waiting for their opportunity ... and now their opportunity is there," Tuioti said in March.
Furthermore, Tuioti said then he felt good about what he has in Ty Robinson, Thomas, Stille, Damion Daniels, Jordon Riley and Casey Rogers heading into the spring. He also pointed out something important for someone like Thomas: He actually has the same position coach for back-to-back years now. His first three years, it was a different guy in charge of the room every season.
Different names will eat up the snaps than a year before, but that doesn't mean defensive coordinator Erik Chinander or Tuioti moved into 2020 thinking that position group is going to take a step back.
"Aah, I don't know," Chinander said at the start of spring. "I don't know about the drop off. I know we've got kids that we really like that we recruited, that have done a great job since they've been here. Could there be a drop off? Sure. Could there be improvement? Sure. Could it be the same? Sure. But I like the group we've got and I'm very encouraged by watching them so far."
In the case of Deontre Thomas, we already know him, but what he'll be battling for when football returns is to make his fourth season at Nebraska the first season we really get to see him.
"I think for our young guys it's kind of like the perfect storm," said Tuioti, "where we do miss a lot of guys (from 2019), but they know they want to have a chance to represent the University of Nebraska the right way."
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