Georgia State’s Thomas Gore will never forget his favorite sack.
It came last season against Arkansas State, one of the Sun Belt teams that leans heavily on the pass. Quarterback Layne Hatcher dropped back to pass and was looking intently down the field, so intently that he never really got eyes on Gore before it was half-past too late. Gore nailed him good, one of six sacks the Panthers had that afternoon. The camera zoomed in and Hatcher was on the ground, still trying to figure out what happened.
That was a good feeling, Gore said.
“If I’m coming around the corner, and I get there before they see me, it’s almost like an ‘oh-no’ moment,” Gore said. “You can see it in their eyes.”
That was a good day for Gore. He had seven tackles, two sacks and 2½ tackles for loss. It helped Gore, a rising junior, earn honorable-mention all-conference honors.
“Me sitting back and watching my teammates was tough. I felt like to get to be the man and the player I wanted to be, I had to be out there."
“You can have all the hurries and tackles for loss you want, but I want the sacks,” Gore said.
Gore fits the mold for the type of defensive player – he plays part time on the edge and part time at nose guard – coach Shawn Elliott wants on the field. Gore knows how to go only full-speed, and his aggressiveness is off the chart. He matches the personality of the head coach in that regard. For Gore, it’s always been that way.
“When you play in the trenches, it’s man-to-man, and if I’m not aggressive, they’re going to win,” Gore said. “You have to be like a bull in a china shop.”
Gore doesn’t know any other way to play. He played with the same abandon at Brentwood Academy in Tennessee – where he was a teammate of the late Brandon Adams, who played at Georgia Tech. He helped Brentwood win a state football championship and also captured the state heavyweight wrestling title.
After a redshirt season in 2019, Gore has progressed from backup to starter. The turning point may have come after he missed spring practice in 2020 because of a torn labrum. He didn’t want to go through that again and was determined to get mentally and physically stronger.
“Me sitting back and watching my teammates was tough,” he said. “I felt like to get to be the man and the player I wanted to be, I had to be out there.”
His determination paid off. Gore was the highest-graded interior defensive lineman in FBS competition, according to Pro Football Focus, which calculated that he totaled the third-most defensive stops at the position. He finished with 45 total tackles – sixth best on the team – 9½ tackles for loss, 2½ sacks and one hurry in 13 games.
During spring camp, Gore has seen his stock continue to grow. He likely will continue his dual role as a defensive end and nose guard, where he’ll take over for four-year starter and mentor Dontae Wilson, who graduated. Gore loves to play on the edge, where it’s easier to get to the quarterback, but he understands that his 6-foot, 270-pound frame and his never-quit mentality are ideal to play the interior.
“I’ve always tried to lead by example, but I’ve been more outspoken,” Gore said. “I’ve got to step up in that leadership role. And I’ve gotten stronger and have tried to improve my mental aspect of the game, too.”
As spring practice wraps up and culminates with the Blue and White Game on April 1, Gore said the team is eager to build on last season’s record success.
“You can feel the excitement,” he said. “But this time it’s more serious. The team as a whole has bought in. We want to win a Sun Belt championship.”
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