Travis John Thomas (born December 3, 1984) 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 ...

. He was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2008. He 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 Notre Dame.

Early years

Thomas graduated from Washington High School after a stellar football career. He won SuperPrep All-American honors, with a total of 2730 rushing yards, 25 receptions for 420 yards, and 56 touchdowns in his career. He also played outside linebacker in 2002 and made 137 tackles, which helped bring his team to a 15-0 season and a Pennsylvania Class AA state title. He was awarded MVP two years, and also won the scholar-athlete award at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College career

During the 2005

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 ...

season, Thomas saw action chiefly on special teams (in all 12 games) and also as a reserve halfback (in 10 games). As halfback he rushed 63 times for 248 yards with a total of five touchdowns. On special teams, he made a total of 132 appearances throughout the season with seven tackles. In 2006, he was moved to the position of linebacker because of his speed and physicality with Coach

Charlie Weis Charles Joseph Weis Sr. (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator in ...

's blessing and was appointed captain of special teams. He proved valuable to the Irish as a flexible player with his ability to play both offense and defense. Thomas moved back to halfback for the 2007 season and was named a captain along with

Tom Zbikowski Thomas Michael Zbikowski (born May 22, 1985) is a former American football safety. He is also a professional boxer and a firefighter. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round (86th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. He earned All-Ame ...

Maurice Crum Jr. Maurice Crum Jr. (born May 29, 1986) is a former American football player and was formerly the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Mississippi. Crum was formerly the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach a ...

, John Sullivan, and John Carlson.Weis Names Captains Early - UHND.com
/ref> He served primarily as a goalline back and led the team in rushing touchdowns.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Thomas went undrafted in the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

and was subsequently signed by the

. He was waived/injured on August 30.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio
1984 births Living people People from Washington, Pennsylvania American football running backs American football linebackers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Cleveland Browns players Players of American football from Pennsylvania {{Amfoot-bio-stub