Dallas Thomas Looks To Beat The Heat In Miami

August 31, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Darrington Sentimore (94) and offensive linesman Dallas Thomas (71) celebrate after beating the North Carolina State Wolfpack at the Georgia Dome. Tennessee beat NC State 35-21. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Former Tennessee Volunteer Dallas Thomas is going to have to get used to the humidity again.

Thomas, the third round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins, is originally from Louisiana, but after spending the last few years in Knoxville, he isn’t quite used to the humidity of South Florida.

"Thomas: The first thing was the heat, when we first got out here it was hitting hard. I don’t know what the temperature was but it felt like it was 105 degrees today so I’ve got to get back used to that. I’m from Louisiana, born and raised and lived there my whole life but I’ve been in Tennessee so long and there’s no humidity, just regular heat and it doesn’t get as hot as it does down here."

The biggest question facing Thomas going into rookie minicamps isn’t how he’ll handle the heat, but what position he’ll be playing.

Thomas lined up at both tackle and guard during his career at Tennessee. He spent the first part of career playing left tackle, before moving to guard during his senior season to allow Antonio “Tiny” Richardson to play at left tackle.

The Dolphins were rumored to be trading for Brandon Albert of the Kansas City Chiefs, but an agreement could never be made between the two teams.

Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said that the team could be bringing in players to try out at tackle this week, but nothing is imminent.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Thomas will be playing at tackle, as Philbin is still non committal to Thomas’ position.

It’s still very early in the process and Philbin likely wants to see a lot more out of his young players before he makes a decision regarding where Dallas Thomas will play.

One thing is certain, the Dolphins have to love the versatility that Thomas will bring to the offensive line.

UPDATE:

The Dolphins signed tackle Tyson Clabo this morning, which adds a little more clarity to Thomas’ position with the team.

According to South Florida Sun Sentinel writer Omar Kelly it looks like Thomas will be groomed to eventually replace guard Richie Incognito.

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