Anthony Thomas (born November 7, 1977), nicknamed "A-Train", is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
.
Thomas played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 1997 to 2000. He broke
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
's career rushing record with a four-year total of 4,472 yards. As a senior, he rushed for 1,733 yards and was selected as a first-team running back on the
2000 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Thomas was drafted by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
in the second round of the
2001 NFL Draft
The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
and played for seven seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). As a rookie with the Bears in 2001, Thomas rushed for over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He played for the Bears from 2001 to 2004,
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
in 2005,
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in 2005, and
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
from 2006 to 2007.
High school career
Thomas was born in
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located across the Red River from the larger Alexandria. Pineville is hence part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,555 at the 2010 cens ...
, in 1977 and attended Winnfield Senior High School in
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield. .
He starred on the
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
track, and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
teams. He totaled 7,594 rushing yards and scored 682 points for the Winnfield tigers. He also set a state record with 106 career
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
while playing both running back and
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
Spe ...
. He was named a first-team
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n and rated as the second-best running back in the country by the ''Prep Football Report''.
College career
Thomas enrolled at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1997. While playing at Michigan, he was given the nickname "A-Train" by
Brent Musburger.
As a freshman, he was a member of the undefeated, national champion
1997 Michigan Wolverines football team. That year, he was the Wolverines' #2 running back (behind
Chris Howard), twice rushed for over 100 yards (122 yards against Baylor and 129 yards against Iowa), and compiled a total of 549 rushing yards and 219 receiving yards. He was honored as the
1997 Big Ten Freshman Of the Year by both the conference coaches and media.
After his freshman year, Thomas led the Wolverines in rushing for three consecutive years with 893 yards in 1998, 1,297 yards in 1999, and 1,733 yards in 2000. His 1,733 rushing yards in 2000 remains the second highest single-season total in Michigan history. During the 2000 season, Thomas had nine games in which he rushed for over 100 yards, including 228 yards against Illinois, 199 yards against Northwestern, and 182 yards against both
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and
Auburn. He was selected as a second-team All-Big Ten player in 1999 (coaches and media), and as a first-team All-Big Ten player in 2000 (coaches and media). He was also selected as both a team captain and most valuable player on the
2000 Michigan team.
Thomas's 4,472 rushing yards broke
Jamie Morris
James Walter Morris (born June 6, 1965) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and a record-setting running back in college for the University of Michigan Wolverine ...
' Michigan career rushing records. (Thomas's record was later broken by
Mike Hart.)
[ He also broke ]Tyrone Wheatley
Tyrone Anthony Wheatley Sr. (born January 19, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, he served as the running backs coach of the Denver Broncos of ...
's modern Michigan career record with 56 touchdowns (55 rushing and one receiving). He also set and continues to hold Michigan records with an average of 144.4 rushing yards per game in 2000 and six games in a season with at least 150 rushing yards.[
]
Professional career
In April 2001, Thomas was selected by the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
in the second round (38th overall pick) of the 2001 NFL Draft
The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
. On October 21, 2001, Thomas set two Bears rookie records with 188 rushing yards and a 8.55 yards/carry average in a 24–0 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
. He set his third franchise rookie record in the season finale with 33 carries; he also had 160 yards and a touchdown in the clinching victory over Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. With 1,183 rushing yards during the 2001 season, Thomas helped lead the Bears to a 13–3 record and an NFC Central championship.[ In January 2002, he received the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2001 season.
Thomas remained the Bears' top running back for two more years with 721 rushing yards in 2002 and 1,024 rushing yards in 2003. In 2004, Thomas Jones took over as the Bears' lead back, and Thomas was limited to 404 yards on 122 carries.
In May 2005, Thomas signed a one-year contract with the ]Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
and was expected to be the backup running back to Julius Jones. He appeared in six games, two as a starter, for the 2005 Cowboys, gaining only 80 yards on 36 carries.[ Thomas' ineffectiveness in limited duty, his inability to play special teams, and the emergence of ]Marion Barber III
Marion Sylvester Barber III (June 10, 1983 – June 1, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Minnesota Golden ...
as the primary backup led Dallas to release him in November 2005. He was quickly signed by after they lost Deuce McAllister with a season ending knee injury. Thomas appeared in only four games, all as a backup for the Saints, and gained 12 yards on seven carries.[
On April 28, 2006, Thomas signed with the ]Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
. In 2006, he appeared in 16 games, two as a starter, for the Bills, and gained 378 yards on 107 carries. The following year, he appeared in 10 games and gained 89 yards on 36 carries.[ He was placed on injured reserve in early December 2007.
]
Coaching career
In 2011, Thomas served as the running backs coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist E ...
. He was promoted to special teams coordinator and assistant head coach in 2012.
In 2015, Thomas was selected for induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
See also
* Michigan Wolverines football statistical leaders
The lists of Michigan Wolverines football statistical leaders identify individual statistical leaders of the Michigan Wolverines football program in various offensive categories, including passing, rushing, and receptions. Within those areas ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Anthony
1977 births
Living people
American football running backs
Buffalo Bills players
Chicago Bears players
Dallas Cowboys players
Michigan Wolverines football players
New Orleans Saints players
West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats football coaches
National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
People from Winnfield, Louisiana
Players of American football from Louisiana
African-American players of American football
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople