Halfback, Washington
Redskins
Age: 22
College: Nevada
– Las Vegas
Height: 5’11” Weight: 190
Prelude:
As a college
freshman at Oklahoma, Thomas ran 90 yards for a touchdown on his first carry,
but an injury finished his season and he transferred to UNLV. In two years, he
rushed for 3149 yards, which set a school record, and scored 40 TDs. Thomas was
chosen by the Redskins in the fifth round of the 1975 NFL draft. While Head
Coach George Allen was notorious for not starting rookies, injuries to veteran
HB Larry Brown necessitated the insertion of Thomas into the lineup.
1975 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 235
[8]
Most
attempts, game - 27 (for 124 yds.) at Cleveland 10/26
Yards – 919 [10]
Most yards,
game – 124 yards (on 27 carries) at Cleveland 10/26
Average gain
– 3.9
TDs – 4
100-yard
rushing games – 3
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 40
Most
receptions, game – 5 (for 52 yds.) at Philadelphia 10/5, (for 72 yds.) at
Houston 10/19, (for 33 yds.) at Atlanta 12/7
Yards – 483
Most yards,
game – 74 (on 4 catches) vs. Minnesota 11/30
Average gain
– 12.1
TDs – 3
All-Purpose
yards – 1402 [10]
Scoring
TDs – 7
Points – 42
Awards & Honors:
NFL Offensive
Rookie of the Year: AP, PFWA (co-winner)
NFC Rookie of
the Year: UPI
Redskins went
8-6 to finish third in the NFC East while leading the NFC in passing yards
(2917).
Aftermath:
Thomas
followed up with a Pro Bowl year in 1976 in which he rushed for a career-high 1101
yards. Playing hurt in ’77, and with a more crowded backfield situation, he
gained 806 yards on the ground and, after playing out his option in a 1978
season in which he gained 920 yards from scrimmage (533 rushing, 387
receiving), Thomas was dealt to the San Diego Chargers. With the pass-oriented
Chargers, and splitting time with Clarence Williams, Thomas gained more receiving yards (388 on 32 catches) than rushing yards (353 on 91 attempts) and he played
one more year, gaining 484 yards on the ground and 218 through the air, before
his career came to an end. Overall, he rushed for 4196 yards on 1087 carries
(3359 yards on 878 attempts with the Redskins)
and caught 192 passes for 2011 yards (131 and 1405, respectively, with
Washington), scoring a total of 30 touchdowns and going to the Pro Bowl once.
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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
