Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thomas developing into pass-rushing weapon
10/17/2018 5:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Going into this season, Middle Tennessee had some questions to answer in the middle of its defense.
Gone were team captain D.J. Sanders and fellow graduate Malik Hawkins out of the middle linebacker spot, meaning new leaders had to step up to help anchor the Blue Raider stoppers.
One of those new leaders is just a sophomore, and he didn't play linebacker until coming to MT in 2017. You wouldn't know that by looking at him on the field, though.
With redshirt senior Darius Harris moving from the strong side to the middle this year, an opportunity arose for sophomore DQ Thomas to slot into the starting lineup. He's taken hold of the role as if it's a quarterback trying to escape his grasp.
"He's done a great job of transitioning to a linebacker," MT linebackers coach Siriki Diabate said. "We've had to teach him the understanding of being a linebacker … and he did a great job of picking that up as a freshman. Now, as a sophomore, he kind of ran with that and developed to a whole new level, and I think we're starting to see that on the field."
Thomas is no stranger to high-level college football. As a kid, he grew up in Oxford, Mississippi about 10 minutes from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, home of the Ole Miss Rebels football team.
Being fully immersed in Saturdays at The Grove taught him all about football in the South and sparked his yearning to play ball in college.
"There was a lot of Ole Miss, a lot of Hotty Toddy," Thomas said. "I wasn't a diehard Rebels fan, though. I went to a handful of games, but I wasn't a huge Rebels fan or anything."
Thomas starred for Oxford High School on the gridiron under the Friday night lights, helping lead the team to three straight state championship appearances in his first three years.
The Chargers never could get over the hump, though, losing all three titles by a combined 14 points. Their largest margin of defeat was 42-35 in 2013, followed by losses of three and four points the following two years, respectively.
Being heartbroken three years in a row taught Thomas a lot about how to handle himself in pressure situations.
"Those state championship games were big," he said. "I think they helped me for regular college games, because the situations you get in, the crowds and stuff, that's all similar.
"I'm mad we couldn't finish any of them, but they were a great experience."
While at Oxford, Thomas was a star safety, being named to the Class 5A all-state team as a senior after racking up 115 tackles, nine tackles for loss and five interceptions.
He was subsequently ranked a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com during his senior year and racked up numerous collegiate offers, including from MT, Mississippi State, South Alabama and Florida Atlantic.
Something stood out about Middle Tennessee, though.
"It was just how they treated me here," Thomas said. "When I was on my visit, Coach Stock gave me the nickname 'Whiz,' and that always stuck with me."
While making the transition into being a college student, Thomas also underwent a change on the football field.
He moved down from his usual safety position to linebacker, meaning he'd have to change his body makeup and alter his mindset.
At first, it looked as if Thomas wouldn't fit in the role. When he first came to Murfreesboro, he was hovering at about 195 pounds, far too small to be a linebacker, and he'd never really shown an ability to get into the opponents' backfield.
Now, with more than a year to get into the weight room and work on his craft, Thomas is at about 215 pounds and has turned into a weapon in the pass rush. His five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss lead the Blue Raiders this season.
"He has a lot of ability," Diabate said. "He takes everything in, he's like a sponge, and he does a great job of working at it. He has the ability, and with the coaching, you kind of get what we've got now."
Thomas also got the added advantage of constantly learning from Sanders, who played in 51 games over four seasons at MT. The two were roommates last school year.
"That really helped me, because I tried to model myself after him," Thomas said. "I just watched how he did things. He always did things the right way."
Going forward, Thomas still has a lot to polish up with his game that will come with experience. He also has to stay consistent in the weight room to develop even more into a linebacker physically.
There's no reason to think he won't do both of those – Thomas was a four-time state champion powerlifter at Oxford, and he's already shown an innate ability to get into the offensive backfield.
"The sky's the limit for DQ," Diabate said.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Gone were team captain D.J. Sanders and fellow graduate Malik Hawkins out of the middle linebacker spot, meaning new leaders had to step up to help anchor the Blue Raider stoppers.
One of those new leaders is just a sophomore, and he didn't play linebacker until coming to MT in 2017. You wouldn't know that by looking at him on the field, though.
With redshirt senior Darius Harris moving from the strong side to the middle this year, an opportunity arose for sophomore DQ Thomas to slot into the starting lineup. He's taken hold of the role as if it's a quarterback trying to escape his grasp.
"He's done a great job of transitioning to a linebacker," MT linebackers coach Siriki Diabate said. "We've had to teach him the understanding of being a linebacker … and he did a great job of picking that up as a freshman. Now, as a sophomore, he kind of ran with that and developed to a whole new level, and I think we're starting to see that on the field."
Thomas is no stranger to high-level college football. As a kid, he grew up in Oxford, Mississippi about 10 minutes from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, home of the Ole Miss Rebels football team.
Being fully immersed in Saturdays at The Grove taught him all about football in the South and sparked his yearning to play ball in college.
"There was a lot of Ole Miss, a lot of Hotty Toddy," Thomas said. "I wasn't a diehard Rebels fan, though. I went to a handful of games, but I wasn't a huge Rebels fan or anything."
Thomas starred for Oxford High School on the gridiron under the Friday night lights, helping lead the team to three straight state championship appearances in his first three years.
The Chargers never could get over the hump, though, losing all three titles by a combined 14 points. Their largest margin of defeat was 42-35 in 2013, followed by losses of three and four points the following two years, respectively.
Being heartbroken three years in a row taught Thomas a lot about how to handle himself in pressure situations.
"Those state championship games were big," he said. "I think they helped me for regular college games, because the situations you get in, the crowds and stuff, that's all similar.
"I'm mad we couldn't finish any of them, but they were a great experience."
While at Oxford, Thomas was a star safety, being named to the Class 5A all-state team as a senior after racking up 115 tackles, nine tackles for loss and five interceptions.
He was subsequently ranked a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com during his senior year and racked up numerous collegiate offers, including from MT, Mississippi State, South Alabama and Florida Atlantic.
Something stood out about Middle Tennessee, though.
"It was just how they treated me here," Thomas said. "When I was on my visit, Coach Stock gave me the nickname 'Whiz,' and that always stuck with me."
While making the transition into being a college student, Thomas also underwent a change on the football field.
He moved down from his usual safety position to linebacker, meaning he'd have to change his body makeup and alter his mindset.
At first, it looked as if Thomas wouldn't fit in the role. When he first came to Murfreesboro, he was hovering at about 195 pounds, far too small to be a linebacker, and he'd never really shown an ability to get into the opponents' backfield.
Now, with more than a year to get into the weight room and work on his craft, Thomas is at about 215 pounds and has turned into a weapon in the pass rush. His five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss lead the Blue Raiders this season.
"He has a lot of ability," Diabate said. "He takes everything in, he's like a sponge, and he does a great job of working at it. He has the ability, and with the coaching, you kind of get what we've got now."
Thomas also got the added advantage of constantly learning from Sanders, who played in 51 games over four seasons at MT. The two were roommates last school year.
"That really helped me, because I tried to model myself after him," Thomas said. "I just watched how he did things. He always did things the right way."
Going forward, Thomas still has a lot to polish up with his game that will come with experience. He also has to stay consistent in the weight room to develop even more into a linebacker physically.
There's no reason to think he won't do both of those – Thomas was a four-time state champion powerlifter at Oxford, and he's already shown an innate ability to get into the offensive backfield.
"The sky's the limit for DQ," Diabate said.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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