Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Zach Thomas
Enshrinement
Published on : 8/2/2023
By Evan Rogers
Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Eighth in a series of features on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023)
Undersized and overlooked at every level of football he played, ZACH THOMAS, Pro Football Hall of Famer, no longer will be undervalued.
Getting to Canton seemed unlikely for someone who stood an inch short of 6 feet and didn’t experience a “typical” childhood.
When he was 2 years old, a pickup truck ran over Thomas when he was playing too close to the vehicle's back wheels. The accident resulted in several injuries and damaged his hearing.
As a teenager Thomas got stuck on a mattress floating down a flooded river and had to be rescued by his older brother nearly 2 miles down the waterway. Four years later, his family's home burned down.
Simply put, Thomas overcame several atypical experiences growing up. Through it all, he learned the importance of hard work, a trait his family instilled in him.
“(My father) made me work because he used to be real poor,” Thomas said. “He didn’t try to help me out because he wanted to make me do it myself. And that’s what I appreciate him for.”
Despite his father being a successful oil businessman, Thomas drove a rickety, 1975 Monte Carlo in high school. To get a new car, Thomas was told he would have to work for it, and after saving $4,500, he purchased a Camaro.
This sense of hard work and grit bled onto the football field. As a senior at Pampa (Texas) High School, Thomas earned first-team all-state honors by recording 158 tackles, six sacks and forcing five fumbles his senior year. Yet, Thomas’ illustrious high school career wasn’t complemented with a plethora of college offers; scouts focused on his measurables.
He enrolled at Texas Tech University, where he played under head coach Spike Dykes. Thomas made his presence known quickly and became a three-year starter. His claim to fame? A bruising style and tenacity that resulted in three broken facemasks in college.
It was his work off the field, however, that helped Thomas garner multiple accolades at Texas Tech, including a pair of Southwestern Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and unanimous first-team All-American status his senior year.
“Zach (Thomas) had a VCR, and he’d take tapes home with him all the time,” Dykes told an interviewer. “There’s no telling how many hours he spent watching them.”
Still, Thomas went largely unnoticed by scouts at the pro level after finishing his four years Red Raider. Once again, NFL personnel fixated on Thomas’ lack of size and said his subpar speed could hinder him in pass coverage.
“Coming into high school I had to prove myself, and I made all-state; then going into college no one would recruit me, and I was an All-American twice,” Thomas said. “You're at the top and then you graduate and go straight down to the bottom … I’ve always been in a position of proving people wrong.”
The Miami Dolphins selected Thomas in the fifth round with the 154th pick. Mike Westhoff, Miami’s longtime special teams coach, said the late-round selection was made with the idea Thomas would become a consistent contributor on special teams.
Thomas quickly proved his worth was far greater than initial projections. In his rookie season, Thomas started all 16 games and recorded a team-high 154 total tackles. He would go on to register at least 100 total tackles in each of his first 11 seasons with the Dolphins, according to team stats.
“Zach Thomas ranks as one of my favorite players of all time,” Hall of Fame head coach JIMMY JOHNSON said. “Zach was a coach’s dream as a leader and a player. I never had any player that prepared himself as well as Zach.”
Like his success in college, Thomas separated himself in the NFL with his film study. A five-time first-team All-Pro, he was known for being one step ahead of opposing teams, helping him snare 17 interceptions during his storied career — four of which he returned for touchdowns.
"The most unnerving thing about playing Miami is Zach Thomas calling out all of your plays,” Hall of Fame quarterback PEYTON MANNING said. “He caused the most problems for me of any player I ever faced.”
Throughout his football career, Thomas always seemed to find a way to work around his below-average measurements. He even used the hearing loss he suffered as a kid to his advantage, noting the ability to read opposing players’ lips helped him gain a competitive edge.
The Dolphins’ all-time leading tackler, Thomas truly exemplified that great players aren’t determined by mere numbers on a sheet of paper.
“The measurements are overrated,” Thomas said. “Just throw on the tape, and that’s where you find the real players.”
Evan Rogers is a student at the University of North Carolina and is an intern this summer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Eighth in a series of features on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023)
Undersized and overlooked at every level of football he played, ZACH THOMAS, Pro Football Hall of Famer, no longer will be undervalued.
Getting to Canton seemed unlikely for someone who stood an inch short of 6 feet and didn’t experience a “typical” childhood.
When he was 2 years old, a pickup truck ran over Thomas when he was playing too close to the vehicle's back wheels. The accident resulted in several injuries and damaged his hearing.
As a teenager Thomas got stuck on a mattress floating down a flooded river and had to be rescued by his older brother nearly 2 miles down the waterway. Four years later, his family's home burned down.
Simply put, Thomas overcame several atypical experiences growing up. Through it all, he learned the importance of hard work, a trait his family instilled in him.
“(My father) made me work because he used to be real poor,” Thomas said. “He didn’t try to help me out because he wanted to make me do it myself. And that’s what I appreciate him for.”
Despite his father being a successful oil businessman, Thomas drove a rickety, 1975 Monte Carlo in high school. To get a new car, Thomas was told he would have to work for it, and after saving $4,500, he purchased a Camaro.
This sense of hard work and grit bled onto the football field. As a senior at Pampa (Texas) High School, Thomas earned first-team all-state honors by recording 158 tackles, six sacks and forcing five fumbles his senior year. Yet, Thomas’ illustrious high school career wasn’t complemented with a plethora of college offers; scouts focused on his measurables.
He enrolled at Texas Tech University, where he played under head coach Spike Dykes. Thomas made his presence known quickly and became a three-year starter. His claim to fame? A bruising style and tenacity that resulted in three broken facemasks in college.
It was his work off the field, however, that helped Thomas garner multiple accolades at Texas Tech, including a pair of Southwestern Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and unanimous first-team All-American status his senior year.
“Zach (Thomas) had a VCR, and he’d take tapes home with him all the time,” Dykes told an interviewer. “There’s no telling how many hours he spent watching them.”
Still, Thomas went largely unnoticed by scouts at the pro level after finishing his four years Red Raider. Once again, NFL personnel fixated on Thomas’ lack of size and said his subpar speed could hinder him in pass coverage.
“Coming into high school I had to prove myself, and I made all-state; then going into college no one would recruit me, and I was an All-American twice,” Thomas said. “You're at the top and then you graduate and go straight down to the bottom … I’ve always been in a position of proving people wrong.”
The Miami Dolphins selected Thomas in the fifth round with the 154th pick. Mike Westhoff, Miami’s longtime special teams coach, said the late-round selection was made with the idea Thomas would become a consistent contributor on special teams.
Thomas quickly proved his worth was far greater than initial projections. In his rookie season, Thomas started all 16 games and recorded a team-high 154 total tackles. He would go on to register at least 100 total tackles in each of his first 11 seasons with the Dolphins, according to team stats.
“Zach Thomas ranks as one of my favorite players of all time,” Hall of Fame head coach JIMMY JOHNSON said. “Zach was a coach’s dream as a leader and a player. I never had any player that prepared himself as well as Zach.”
Like his success in college, Thomas separated himself in the NFL with his film study. A five-time first-team All-Pro, he was known for being one step ahead of opposing teams, helping him snare 17 interceptions during his storied career — four of which he returned for touchdowns.
"The most unnerving thing about playing Miami is Zach Thomas calling out all of your plays,” Hall of Fame quarterback PEYTON MANNING said. “He caused the most problems for me of any player I ever faced.”
Throughout his football career, Thomas always seemed to find a way to work around his below-average measurements. He even used the hearing loss he suffered as a kid to his advantage, noting the ability to read opposing players’ lips helped him gain a competitive edge.
The Dolphins’ all-time leading tackler, Thomas truly exemplified that great players aren’t determined by mere numbers on a sheet of paper.
“The measurements are overrated,” Thomas said. “Just throw on the tape, and that’s where you find the real players.”
Evan Rogers is a student at the University of North Carolina and is an intern this summer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
More of this series
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Rondé Barber
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Don Coryell
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Chuck Howley
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Joe Klecko
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Darrelle Revis
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Ken Riley
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Joe Thomas
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Zach Thomas
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: DeMarcus Ware
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