In his days as a Thomasville High Bulldog, Charlie Thomas played everywhere. He was a safety primarily, but he also played closer to the line of scrimmage. He played cornerback as a freshman. He sometimes played running back. He returned kicks and punts. One game, when coach Zach Grage didn’t have a quarterback, he put Thomas behind center “and he just took direct snaps all night,” Grage said this week.
“We’d flip (him) over and play receiver,” Grage said. “And this is no lie. We had a play that we just called ‘Charlie.’”
Three receivers lined up to the wide (field) side of the field with Thomas by himself on the short (boundary) side. Grage and his staff tried to offer instruction to Thomas and quarterback JT Rice on how to run routes based on coverage, “and him and JT just stopped us and said, ‘Coach, we got it,’” Grage said.
Grage recalled Thomas’ first scholarship offer, from Troy and its then-defensive coordinator Vic Koenning.
“(Koenning) came over and he said, ‘Coach, what does he play?’” Grage recalled. “I’m like, ‘Football.’ He said, ‘Coach, I agree. I don’t know what he is, but he’s a freak, and I’m going to find a place for him.’”
Koenning and Troy were not able to enjoy that privilege; Thomas signed in December 2017 with Tech and then-coach Paul Johnson (who recruited him as both a receiver and defensive back, Grage said) and is now in the hands of coach Geoff Collins. And, as the Yellow Jackets attempt to build on their win over then-No. 21 North Carolina with an ACC Coastal Division matchup with Pittsburgh on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Collins and his staff appreciate Thomas as Koenning once had – a highly athletic defender with a wide-ranging skill set.
“He is a big-time player,” Collins said this week. “We put him out in space a lot, and we pressure him, we blitz him a lot, and he is just such a good football player.”
That has becoming increasingly obvious this season. Thomas has made 32 tackles in the Jackets’ first four games, including 20 in the past two weeks since the Jackets switched to a 3-3-5 alignment. He ranks tied for third in the ACC in tackles for loss with 6.5. Against North Carolina, Thomas ambushed the Tar Heels for 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. At least since the start of the 2000 season, no Jackets defender has matched those totals in a single game, according to Sports Reference.com. Going into Saturday’s game, he has graded as the No. 1 linebacker in FBS by Pro Football Focus.
“Oh, man, Charlie is a machine,” cornerback Tobias Oliver said. “He can run, he can tackle. There’s not much he can’t do.”
It is no stretch to say that Thomas’ versatility has factored into Tech’s success with the shift to the 3-3-5 from the 4-2-5 that defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker relied on in Collins’ first two seasons. In the “overhang” linebacker spot that he generally occupies, Thomas lines up on the field side of the ball, three to four yards off the line of scrimmage inside of the receivers to that side. It’s also known as the “joker” position in that alignment. From there, he can play pass coverage, support the run and blitz the quarterback.
“I’m more of a zone player,” said Thomas of the role. “Just play off of the run and get a run-pass read. If it’s run, I usually have a fit, and if it’s pass, I usually just go off the quarterback’s eyes and play off instinct for the most part.”
For someone who has strong spatial-awareness skills, tackles well in the open field, is fast and agile and has keen instincts amplified by an appetite for preparation, it’s an ideal position. Toss in that, at 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, he hits with force and has deft ball skills.
“I like being in space,” Thomas said, “and I feel like I can see the whole defense there. It just feels a lot more comfortable.”
From that overhang spot against North Carolina, he dropped into pass coverage, chased down ball carriers, evaded a block to blow up a screen pass to wide receiver Josh Downs and shot into the pocket to bring down quarterback Sam Howell for sacks.
“He is a smart football player,” Thacker said. “He prepares the right way, he anticipates plays. So when you have a good idea of tendencies, you anticipate plays and then you let God-given ability take over, it works out pretty well for you.”
(Thomas’ smarts extend beyond the field. He is on track to complete his business degree in December and could pursue a master’s if he chooses to use his extra COVID-19 season of eligibility and play five seasons.)
With his impactful play, the Jackets curbed a Tar Heels offense that had rung up 59 points on back-to-back Saturdays to 22 as they sacked Howell eight times. Thomas was named ACC co-linebacker of the week.
It seems he has found a home, at last. Since his arrival at Tech in 2018, when he first played for former defensive coordinator Nate Woody in his 3-4 defense, Thomas played one of Woody’s outside linebacker spots as a freshman and then switched to the other, then linebacker in Thacker’s 4-2-5 in 2019 and then nickel back in 2020. When the Jackets were short multiple defensive ends against N.C. State late last season, Thomas was plugged in there, too.
Of course, it’s not like he hadn’t previously shown the willingness and capacity to shift into multiple positions.
“I think that’s him,” said his mother, Nisha Thurman. “Where do you want me to play?”
The second oldest of four, Thomas was nonstop in sports and in the home as a child.
“All he has is sisters, so he would aggravate all of us until we would just say, ‘Charlie, stop!’” Thurman said.
Thomas began playing football at 6 in Thomasville, located less than 15 miles from the Georgia-Florida border. Playing all over the field was part of the experience.
“I think a good thing with these South Georgia kids that you lose maybe in the metro (Atlanta) area is that these kids grow up playing football, and not the organized kind,” said Grage, Thomas’ high-school coach. “If you go around the streets on Saturday and go to the different parks on the weekends, that’s what these kids do, and they still do it.”
Now in his fourth season, Thomas has taken the further step of becoming a team leader. At the start of Tuesday’s practice, as players assembled to stretch, Thomas took the microphone from strength-and-conditioning coach Lewis Caralla, who is about to lead the calisthenics period. Thomas said he wanted to get his team going and save Collins from the task.
“A year ago, two years ago, that wouldn’t have happened,” Collins said. “But who he is right now – he’s respected by his teammates, obviously, he’s respected by us as a coaching staff for his development. Big-time player, but just the young man that he’s becoming, too. It’s why you do this, and it’s awesome to see.”
About the Author
