Former Tide great Derrick Thomas was ‘something special’

TUSCALOOSA | From before he ever arrived at the University of Alabama, Derrick Thomas knew his destination: Canton, Ohio.

The late Crimson Tide linebacker will finally arrive there today when he is inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with Bob Hayes, Randall McDaniel, Bruce Smith, Ralph Wilson Jr. and Rod Woodson.

Thomas will join the ranks of pro football’s all-time greats nearly 10 years after his death at age 33 from complications following a car crash in January 2000.

Making it to Canton was Thomas’ goal from the very start. Thomas talked openly of his Hall of Fame dreams from the moment he arrived at Alabama at age 18.

“Derrick was probably the most committed person I’ve known,” said former UA teammate Kermit Kendrick, an All-America safety. “His vision at an early age was far beyond Tuscaloosa. He was committed to being in the NFL Hall of Fame.”

“He knew the numbers he had to get to get to the Hall of Fame before he even got to Alabama. This honor is a testament to what a commitment in life can be. Derrick Thomas is a life-long lesson I tell my kids about.”

An immediate impact

Thomas made an instant impact at UA, playing in 11 out of 12 games as a true freshman and starting twice.

“The first day of practice out on the field, you just knew he had a little something special,” said Joe Kines, Alabama’s defensive coordinator at the time. “He wasn’t just a good player — he was sure-enough one of those kids that had magic in him.

“He always had a smile on his face. He loved to play. He wasn’t one of those guys that kind of hang around and think they’re going to play good on Saturday. Practice to him was just like playing in the game.”

Steve Hale, now chief executive officer of the Senior Bowl, was also on the Alabama coaching staff when Thomas arrived. He said the linebacker was no ordinary freshman.

“What I remember about Derrick is two things: his maturity as a young player and his generosity. He’s one of those guys that everyone gravitated to and everybody wanted to be around.

“He had that knack for understanding the game, seeing the field and motivating his teammates. He was, in my opinion, the consummate leader on the field and off.”

A game-changer

Thomas quickly grew into a role as a game-changing pass rusher at Alabama. He dominated games with his shock-and-awe attacks on quarterbacks.

By the time he left the Capstone, Thomas had set school records for sacks in a game (five), a season (27) and a career (52) — all of which still stand. He pressured quarterbacks into hurrying their throws 44 times in 1988 as a senior, another school record, including nine against Penn State.

“His ability was phenomenal,” Kines said, “but it was how he used it that really made the difference. He could change the game. That was one of the hardest guys to block one-on-one. It was almost impossible, always had to double-team him and chip him and stuff.

“He loved to rush the passer, had a passion for that, and played hard every snap.”

While Thomas is remembered as a pass-rush specialist, he used his speed in other ways.

“He was really a trend-setter,” Hale said. “His ability to come off the corner (as a pass rusher) but yet play coverage as well, he was kind of ahead of the curve of what you’re seeing linebackers doing today.

“He kind of maybe not created the position, but he certainly opened up a lot of possibilities. You could take a guy like Derrick and line him up in multiple positions, which made it extremely difficult to figure out how to block him because he could do so many things.”

Thomas changed games in other ways. Kendrick recalls a come-from-behind 31-27 victory at Kentucky in 1988.

“They’re beating us pretty good,” Kendrick said. “They break the huddle on offense and Derrick just lashes out at them. He says, ‘Y’all can’t win today because you’re playing the University of Alabama, and we don’t lose to Kentucky.’ Then everybody starts to say it.

“Their confidence started to shake. We pretty much got in that team’s head.”

When Kendrick got beat on a deep pass for a touchdown against Penn State the same year on a play that was called back for a penalty, Thomas took responsibility.

“That was my fault,” he said in the defensive huddle. “I was too slow getting to the quarterback. That won’t happen again.”

Said Kendrick, “It didn’t happen again, either. When he said he was going to do something, he did.”

To the NFL

Thomas took that same attitude to the National Football League. He was the fourth overall selection of the 1989 draft, taken by the Kansas City Chiefs as the foundation for a rebuilding defense. He earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and went on to nine Pro Bowl seasons. No player in the league accumulated more sacks during the 1990s than the 6-foot-3, 243-pound Thomas, who tallied 126 1/2 in his career.

Thomas also set an NFL record that still stands with seven sacks against the Seattle Seahawks as a rookie.

“It’s still an NFL record,” said Neil Smith, an All-Pro defensive lineman with the Chiefs who was one of Thomas’ best friends.

Smith also recalls an Air Force fly-over before the game. Thomas’ father served in the Air Force and died in the Viet Nam War.

“They flew the jets over for maybe the first time in his career that day,” Smith said. “His eyes just lit up. He just took over that ballgame by himself.”

Thomas’ personality also shined within the Chiefs’ organization.

“He would always pull pranks on me,” Smith recalled.

Like the time Smith and Thomas did a commercial for a long-distance service. The script called for Smith to tear up a mock locker room because his mother had called him without using another service.

“I’m not an actor by any means,” Smith said. “I just wanted to know my lines. I was so worried about my script. For three hours, Derrick couldn’t get one line right.

“After the third hour, I looked at him and said, ‘You’re going to get this right.’ He was literally laughing. He said, ‘I just enjoy watching you tear up the locker room.’ It was all a set-up.”

Smith used to do a pantomime baseball-bat swing as a sack celebration. He carried a real bat around the Chiefs’ complex to practice his swing. One day, it disappeared.

“My bat is gone and I start getting these ransom notes to leave money at the 50-yard line or your bat is going to be chewed up into 1,500 toothpicks,” Smith said. “It was Derrick and Joe Montana.

“I went into a slump for a few games after I lost my bat. I had to take it up with (head coach) Marty Schottenheimer to get it back.”

Smith, a University of Nebraska product, also saw first-hand how Thomas was regarded at Alabama.

“I’m a super Alabama fan,” Smith said. “I remember driving down there one time with (Thomas) to Tuscaloosa for a game. We were flying. This police officer pulled us over and said, ‘What you boys doing going so fast?,’ with that accent. I’m thinking we’re going to jail. If it were in Lincoln (Neb.), I know they’d have taken me to jail. Derrick showed (the officer) his license and he said, ‘You better be glad I’m such an Alabama fan,’ and he ended up escorting us.

“I know what the University of Alabama meant to Derrick. He loved that school.”

Another legacy

The legacy Thomas left in Kansas City went far beyond the football field. It lives on in the Third and Long Foundation, and at Derrick Thomas Academy.

When Thomas joined the Chiefs, like other players he was required by the team to get involved in community projects. Rather than join an existing charity foundation, Thomas announced he wanted to start his own.

“Normally they would assign a player to work with the cancer association or boys and girls clubs or something,” said Betty Brown, a founding board member of the Third and Long Foundation. “That wasn’t what Derrick wanted to do.”

Thomas wanted to help inner-city youths improve their reading skills. He began by going to a library every Saturday and reading to kids.

“He would bring a player from the Chiefs up to read with them,” Brown said. “He would bring Marcus Allen, Joe Montana, Neil Smith, anybody that was a player he could get to go.”

Thomas originally funded the initiative with his own money, but got advice to set up his foundation. Smith was there when Thomas settled on the name.

“We were sitting watching (game) film and he said he needed to work on a name for his foundation,” Smith said. “We popped in a third-down film on us rushing against the opposition. I just asked him, ‘What do you think your best down is?’

“He said, ‘My best down is every down,’ and gave me that little smirk. We talked about it and he said, ‘I like third-and-long because we can pin our ears back.’ I immediately said, ‘That’s the name of your foundation.’”

Thomas won the NFL Man of the Year Award in 1993 for his charity work. The foundation has carried on his mission, funding 115 scholarships since 1996 and helping more than 1,000 children to improve their reading skills.

“Derrick knew his dad, but his father went to Viet Nam and never came back,” said Nehemiah Thomas, principal at Derrick Thomas Academy. “I guess it caused him to be a father to many other kids. That’s what his mission really became about, being a difference-maker for kids and giving them what they needed.”

The school that bears Thomas’ name will begin its eighth year this fall. The principal will join four students who won essay contests in representing Derrick Thomas at today’s induction.

“I’m pretty sure there won’t be a dry eye in the house,” Nehemiah Thomas said.

The only thing missing will be Derrick Thomas himself.

“I’m so happy and proud for Derrick because I know this was a goal he had and wanted to achieve,” Smith said. “I met a young man back in the ’90s and from day one we just grew up together.

“He was a great humanitarian to the city of Kansas City. If you never had an opportunity to encounter him, he was just a stellar, stellar guy. I’m proud for him, sad that he’s not here, but proud.”

Reach Tommy Deas at tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0224.