In 1990, Dave Thomas joined Chuck Smith and Dale Carter as junior college transfers to Tennessee football. He and Carter were expected to become lockdown cornerbacks on opposite sides, and to be fair, Carter did become that both years. That was a key reason for the Vols winning another SEC Championship and only being a couple of botched kicks away from a national championship.
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Anyway, Thomas played as a reserve that year, but he was still very productive, coming away with 17 total tackles, a tackle for a loss, a pass broken up and an interception. He was expected to become a star in 1991, however, due to a redshirt and off-field incident, he didn’t play and subsequently lost his eligibility for the next two years. As a result, Thomas’ draft stock tanked.
The Dallas Cowboys took the 6’3″ 213-pound cornerback in the final round of the 1993 NFL Draft, which was then eight rounds. He was a backup for two years in Dallas and won a Super Bowl. Then he became a five-year starter with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he played his last two years with the New York Giants, starting every game on the 2000 team that made the Super Bowl.
By the time his career was over, Thomas had played for nine years, appeared in 130 games and started in 53 of them. He registered 345 tackles, nine interceptions, 14 pass deflections and six forced fumbles. Oh, and he won a Super Bowl and reached another.