Earl Thomas

Earl Winty Thomas III (born May 7, 1989) is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL).

He finished second in the long jump at the 2007 Region 3-3A Meet, with a personal-best mark of 7.14 meters.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Thomas was ranked as the No. 12 athlete in 2007.

Thomas attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2007 to 2009.

After redshirting his first year at Texas, Thomas started all 13 games at strong safety for the Longhorns in 2008, and ranked second on the team with 63 combined tackles and 17 pass breakups, the most ever by a Longhorn freshman.

He also had two interceptions, four forced fumbles, and a blocked kick.

Thomas subsequently earned multiple All-Freshman honors, as he was named to FWAA's Freshman All-America team, Sporting News′ Freshman All-American team, College Football News′ All-Freshman first-team, and Rivals.com's Freshman All-America team.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2009, Thomas intercepted eight passes, returning two of them for touchdowns.

Thomas was a consensus first-team All-American, named to the first-team All-Big 12 team and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and received consensus All-American honors and played in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.

He left after his redshirt sophomore year and he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

During his time with the Seahawks, he made 6 Pro Bowls and 5 All-Pro teams as he was a core member of the Legion of Boom defense, winning Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos and started in Super Bowl XLIX.

After nine seasons with Seattle, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent and played one season while earning his 7th Pro Bowl invite.

Thomas attended West Orange-Stark High School in Orange, Texas, where he played for the West Orange-Stark Mustangs high school football team, and also lettered in basketball, baseball and track and field.

While there, he was an all-state selection and three-year starter at defensive back, running back and wide receiver.

He recorded 112 career tackles with 11 interceptions, two kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns, while also having 1,850 rushing yards and 2,140 receiving yards in his career.

Thomas was on the school's track & field team, where he competed as a sprinter and jumper, and was a member of the 4 × 200 meters relay team that reached the state finals, at 1:27.92.

The Longhorns were undefeated in the regular season and Thomas played in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game where they lost to Alabama.

Thomas chose to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at Texas to declare for the 2010 NFL Draft where he was the third defensive back taken after Eric Berry and Joe Haden.

On January 8, 2010, Thomas released a statement through the University of Texas which announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but chose to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill.

On March 31, 2010, he participated at Texas' pro day and improved his 40-yard dash (4.37s), 20-yard dash (2.47s), and 10-yard dash (1.49s).

Thomas sustained a hamstring injury during his workout and was unable to complete his entire performance.

He attended pre-draft visits and private workouts with multiple teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Thomas was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

He was ranked as the top safety in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, was ranked the second best safety by NFL analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and ESPN Scouts Inc., and was ranked the second best cornerback prospect by DraftScout.com.

The Seattle Seahawks selected Thomas in the first round (14th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Thomas was the second safety drafted in 2010, behind Eric Berry.

At age 20, he was one of the youngest players eligible for the draft.

On July 31, 2010, the Seattle Seahawks signed Thomas to a five-year, $18.30 million contract that includes $11.75 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $500,000.

Head coach Pete Carroll named Thomas the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Lawyer Milloy.

He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Seattle Seahawks' season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers and recorded seven combined tackles in their 31–6 victory.

On September 26, 2010, Thomas made six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and two interceptions during a 27–20 victory against the San Diego Chargers in Week 3.

Thomas made his first career interception off a pass by Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers, that was originally intended for tight end Antonio Gates, and returned it for a 34-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

On November 14, 2010, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles in the Seahawks' 36–18 victory at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.

In Week 12, Thomas collected eight combined tackles and returned a blocked punt for the first touchdown of his career during a 42–24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Thomas recovered a blocked punt that Kennard Cox blocked by Dustin Colquitt and returned it for a ten-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Thomas started all 16 games during his rookie season in 2010 and recorded 76 combined tackles (64 solo), seven pass deflections, five interceptions, and a forced fumble.

The Seattle Seahawks finished first in the NFC West with a 7–9 record and earned a playoff berth.

On January 9, 2011, Thomas started in his first career playoff game and recorded eight solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 41–36 victory against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC wild-card round.