 "Photo: May-Ying Lam/The Daily Texan")
Earl Thomas didn’t care so much that he wasn’t playing safety as he headed for the end zone with the ball in his hands Saturday night. The only thing Thomas was thinking about as the play unfolded was that he’d seen it before and missed it. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“When your number is called, you’ve just got to go,” Thomas said. “That’s life in general. You’re going to be put in sticky predicaments. It’s going to happen.”
The sophomore has become one of the nation’s top defensive backs from the safety position this year, his second as a starter. But his team needed a nickel back after a collision in the first quarter left starter Aaron Williams out with an injury for the rest of the game.
The fact that Thomas was the other party in that collision didn’t much matter either. He wasn’t coming out of the game.
“We started calling a time out,” said Texas head coach Mack Brown. “Earl waived us off. He didn’t even blink, just said ‘I’m not coming out.’”
Instead, Thomas shifted over into Williams’ spot, a position he often plays on passing downs; and kept making plays.
His third-quarter interception was his sixth this year, tying the team’s 2008 season total. He reached the end zone for the second time, after going 92 yards against Colorado, putting Texas out of Oklahoma State’s reach with only six minutes of the third quarter played.
“They ran [the same play] the first time but, I missed it. Then they came back in, and I was able to get it,” Thomas said. “I felt like it was a crease route and I broke on the ball.”
Being thrown into the fire is nothing new to Thomas. He started all 13 games as a redshirt freshman last year, taking his lumps and learning along the way.
Thomas was one of the three players in the secondary who were criticized for allowing a last-second touchdown to Michael Crabtree against Texas Tech, which ultimately took Texas out of the national title game.
Thomas stepped up and took the blame.
“My dad told me since I was little, there’s going to be some good plays and some bad plays,” Thomas said. “Remember the positive plays you had.”
Lately, there have been plenty to remember.
After a few drops early in the year, Thomas has turned this Texas secondary into one of the most dangerous in the country. The Longhorns have 16 picks through eight games, scoring three times and returning another to the 15-yard line.
“When it starts going for you, it really starts going for you,” Thomas said. “[The first one] really helps. It makes you feel like, ‘I can catch it!’”
But this year’s success is about more than just athletic abilities. Thomas and his teammates in the secondary have watched more film to understand their roles and the offenses they are facing.
“We’ve become more students of the game and relaxing when you get a chance to make a play,” Thomas said. “Last year we had a lot of chances to make plays, but we dropped them. Now I’m watching more film. I didn’t really understand the ‘whole watching’ film thing last year. Now at my house, I just watch film as soon as I get it. This summer, coach Akina helped us out a lot with it.”
Armed with the experience he didn’t have as a freshman, Thomas has put it to good use, leading the nation with 17 pass breakups. And he’s taken on a more active role in leading a young Texas secondary, which has only two upperclassmen as starters, using few words but plenty of emotion.
“You just can’t go out there nonchalant. This is my livelihood. I take it as a business. One day this is how I hope to feed my kids,” Thomas said. “You’ve got to have something amped up about you. You’ve got people looking at you. Something you say can get them motivated. I’m not a real rowdy guy. I lead by example.”
This season, he’s set the standard for a secondary and a defense that have carried No. 2 Texas to an 8-0 record and touching distance from a national championship game.
“Football is really, really important to [Earl],” said defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
“He takes it personally. God’s blessed him with a lot of ability. His most talented attribute is his heart and determination - all of the intangible things.
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