"I had to be patient and work hard." (HA)
HA Note: "It would have been easy to be a doubting Thomas, especially after the false start to his UH career. Thomas made a verbal commitment to UH in February 2004, and completed his high school studies in December of that year. But the NCAA could not immediately determine whether some of the classes he took in Australia met the NCAA's core requirements. For instance, the NCAA struggled to figure out the equivalence of a social science class."
About how he had to wait months for the NCAA to rule on his situation, Thomas said:
"There was a little bit of a concern when they weren't getting back to us, and we were still having trouble getting the academics together." (HA)
"I had to wait." (HA)
HA Note: "Meanwhile, Thomas was in limbo. He worked various jobs because he did not want to commit to full-time employment. He also was advised not to take any university classes because it might trigger his NCAA eligibility clock."
HA Note: "Finally, he received clearance, and was allowed to enroll at UH in January 2006."
About joining a club team in American football when he was 14, Thomas said:
"I was playing rugby at the time, and I was interested to see it. I tried it, and ended up liking it." (HA)
"Rugby's the mainstream sport, so that was something different and I think that intrigued me." (HSB)
Thomas said that the rules and techniques of rugby and football are different, but:
"at the end of the day, it's the same concept." (HA)
About how Thomas have moved up from deep down their depth chart, Gordy Shaw said:
"He's really our sixth-best offensive lineman right now." (HA)
HA Note: "Thomas, who is 6 feet 6 and 306 pounds, has remained fit through an intensive conditioning program. In Australia, he trained by running sand dunes. He is capable of bench pressing 385 pounds. His vertical jump is 29 inches."
Shaw said that because Thomas has only worked with the first team for 3 practices, so:
"he's been a little rusty. But he's getting settled pretty quickly." (HA)
Shaw said that Thomas had a "so-so" practice on Friday but on Saturday:
"he had a good practice. We're counting on him." (HA)
About working on his OL technique, Thomas said:
"I've been working on the technique of things. Coming from Australia, I had to pick up the technique from the older players." (HA)
About how some of his teammates call him "Aussie" instead of his real name, Thomas said:
"Some of the new guys, they don't even know my first name." (HSB)
About how their backup OL need to be ready to play despite not getting any reps, Shaw said:
"When you're a backup offensive lineman you've got to be preparing yourself as if you're going into the game as a starter because it could happen in one play, and you've got to be out there and you don't want to let your team down, you don't want to let your teammates down. In a lot of ways, it's a more difficult task because you're not getting the physical reps, you're only getting the mental reps." (HSB)
HSB Note: "Still, he was a relatively raw prospect when Paul Manera -- a former UH lineman from Australia -- pointed UH assistants George Lumpkin and Wes Suan in his direction during a coaches clinic."
About recruiting Thomas, George Lumpkin said:
"The thing was he ran well for a big guy and all his numbers were good, his 40 time and vertical jump. I trusted Paul, because Paul knew what we needed to play at the University of Hawaii." (HSB)
HSB Note: "Lumpkin brought back a tape for then-offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, who completed the recruiting process shortly before leaving UH for Oregon State."
About Thomas' recruiting tape, Lumpkin said:
"He was running in the sand, he was going up mountains." (HSB)
About why they have been using Thomas at guard and tackle, Shaw said:
"We've been playing him at both guard and tackle just because he was our sixth-best offensive lineman and we wanted to make sure he could play either position in case we had an injury. He struggled a little (Friday), but I thought he had a really good practice today. He's one of those guys who can play inside or outside. He's big enough to play inside, but moves well enough to be outside and play tackle." (HSB)
About moving into the starting lineup due to injury, Thomas said:
"It's not exactly the best way, but any chance I get, I'm excited to take it and take up the challenge." (HSB)
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