What a little b***h
Daniel Thomas wishes he stuck to his career plan of being a safety
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Tannenbombs
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He was actually recruited by Urban Meyer to Florida to play quarterback but did not qualify out of HS and went the JUCO route, and K-State scooped him like the millions of JC prospects they sign every year. He was a JC QB also.
whizafriz
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One of the many mysteries of NFL History.
Honestly, looking back, a LOT of Ireland's picks have ended up looking like busts or simply mediocre. Even the very best picks like Davone Bess and Mike Pouncey have been mired with character issues.
Not trying to turn this into an Ireland thread, but man...did that guy just Continue to get it wrong...
Hey Hayden give the guy a little credit. Safties get paid more and normally play longer which equate to more money something most of us want. Ireland drafted him because he was last and biggest back available in the draft at the time and we were playing Sporano ball which meant smash mouth football with big linemen. Ingram was the first back chosen in that draft in the first round and I believe there were about 3 backs chosen in front of Daniel Thomas in that 2nd round that barely played that first year. In fact I believe DT had more yards that first year than Ingram. DT was a gamble because he did play so many different position in college before being thrust into running back in fact that is a issue some are talking about Ryann T playing wide reciever before QB.
....as a felon?
johngarryvo
The Voice
or.. he could go get his fry cook's diploma
The regrets are already setting in. Probably won't be in the league much longer. It's a tough thing to be a failed nfl player. How come he didn't go to OU? That's not an opportunity you turn down for junior college then Kansas state.
What's astounding is that he moved up and took him over demarco murray. I can not and will not ever understand how someone can look at those two players and think Daniel Thomas will be the better pro. Sure murray was an injury risk but infinitely more talented than dt as a runner. That's the point we all should have known there was no hope at all for Ireland. The average fan should not be able to better gauge talent than ****ing professionals.
KevInMotion
Running @ 24 FPS
Such a tough decision to make at such a young age, sadly it greatly impacted the rest of his working career.
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I'd like this comment 1,000,000 x if I could, and that probably still wouldn't be enough credit.
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Logical regret. More money, longer career, more openings. The Canes have a similar example right now. Dallas Crawford was a highly rated safety in high school and recruited to play safety. The coaching staff moved him to halfback due to depth concerns. Crawford was a hard trying kid at running back and actually pulled out the primetime game at North Carolina last year with gritty runs in the 4th quarter after Duke Johnson was injured. But he had no NFL future at running back. This season he switched back to safety and is splitting time, although the rust is evident.
Crawford is a terrific special teams player which obviously aids his NFL potential.
I think it's wrong to look at Thomas' current frame and assume it would have been identical at safety.
BTW, Jim Mandich always insisted that Canes great and high first round draft choice Alonso Highsmith made a massive mistake in agreeing to switch from outside linebacker to fullback as a freshman. Fullback was still an important position in that era. Highsmith started strong in the NFL but then had a severe knee injury and was never the same. Mandich saw Highsmith frequently in high school, I believe at Columbus, and said he looked like a Lawrence Taylor-type wrecking ball out there. I believe it, based on Highsmith's frame and aggressiveness.
Another Canes example is D.J. Williams, a 5 star recruit who moved from running back to linebacker. He became a first round pick of the Broncos and had a long career.
When in doubt, I think defense is the higher percentage choice.
Crawford is a terrific special teams player which obviously aids his NFL potential.
I think it's wrong to look at Thomas' current frame and assume it would have been identical at safety.
BTW, Jim Mandich always insisted that Canes great and high first round draft choice Alonso Highsmith made a massive mistake in agreeing to switch from outside linebacker to fullback as a freshman. Fullback was still an important position in that era. Highsmith started strong in the NFL but then had a severe knee injury and was never the same. Mandich saw Highsmith frequently in high school, I believe at Columbus, and said he looked like a Lawrence Taylor-type wrecking ball out there. I believe it, based on Highsmith's frame and aggressiveness.
Another Canes example is D.J. Williams, a 5 star recruit who moved from running back to linebacker. He became a first round pick of the Broncos and had a long career.
When in doubt, I think defense is the higher percentage choice.
KevInMotion
Running @ 24 FPS
Great insight!
I forget who said it recently, but it was an active NFL defender who said, "I would rather give the hits, instead of receiving them."
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Yea the switch from a running back to another position seems to work out better in the long runs for players other than the other way around. OJ McDuffie was a great example of a move like that.
