UW great Thomas retires
Ten-time Pro Bowler and former Wisconsin All-American Joe Thomas is hanging up his cleats, he announced Wednesday.
MADISON - Henry Mason recalls NFL scouts coming through the Wisconsin football offices late in the 2006 season eager to evaluate then-senior offensive tackle Joe Thomas.
Scouts had no qualms about Thomas’ game but were worried about his goals. Specifically, they were concerned Thomas might pursue his dream of competing in the Olympics in track and field and that football might not be his passion.
Mason, who coached UW’s wide receivers from 1995-2006 and is preparing for his 10th year as UW’s director of football player personnel and external relations, challenged those worries with a blunt response:
“I looked at them,” Mason said, “and I said: ‘Guys, do you know how many (offensive) linemen we’ve had here at Wisconsin? This is the best one that has ever walked through the door. And if you don’t take him, that’s your fault.’ ”
Thomas was selected No. 3 overall by the Cleveland Browns in the ’07 draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons and played a record 10,363 consecutive snaps before suffering a season-ending triceps injury on Oct. 22.
The graduate of Brookfield Central High School announced his retirement Wednesday.
““Playing in the NFL has taken a toll on my body and I can no longer physically compete at the level I need to,” Thomas told clevelandbrowns.com.
Thomas, 33, started all 38 games over his final three seasons at UW. As a senior in 2006, he won the Outland Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top interior lineman, and was a consensus first-team AllAmerican.
“Everything came easy to him,” said UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, Thomas’ head coach for four seasons. “He was such a good athlete. His hand placement. His feet. He was always right on.”
Thomas could have gone to any college after excelling in football, basketball and track and field (shot put and discus) at Brookfield Central.
UW’s recruiting pitch included a detailed schedule to illustrate how Thomas could find time to participate in both sports, which he did.
Despite spending the bulk of his time on the football field, Thomas qualified for the NCAA track and field regionals in the shot put and discus in 2004 and ’05.
UW head coach Paul Chryst has known Thomas for years. He joined the UW staff in 2002, and one of his first tasks was to recruit Thomas.
“I had a list of five players in the state we were going after,” Chryst said. “Joe was the first.”
After coaching at Oregon State in 2003 and ’04, Chryst returned to UW in 2005 as co-offensive coordinator. He took over as sole offensive coordinator in ’06 and recalls Thomas’ attention to detail.
“He kept a book on every guy he faced, from his film study,” Chryst said. “He was a pro back then.”
And a freakish athlete.
UW closed the 2005 regular season at Hawaii and before one practice the offensive linemen were clowning around throwing passes.
The results were hilarious as the ball generally wobbled or sailed end-over-end.
Not Thomas’ throws. Thomas, listed at 6-foot-8 and 313 pounds that season, unleashed beautiful spirals.
“Some guys can do that,” Mason said. “He was one of them. He is the type of guy if he wanted to slim down to 250 or 260 he could have played tight end and done it well and probably still have been an NFL guy.
“Hated to see the way his career ended, but he retired on his own terms. And that is huge.”
Ben Strickland has known Thomas since the fifth grade. They were teammates during AAU basketball seasons and football teammates at Central and also at UW.
Like others, Strickland and his close friends marvel at Thomas’ athletic accomplishments.
But they also marvel at how fame and fortune haven’t changed Thomas, who went fishing on Lake Michigan with his father on draft day in 2007, loves to work in his vegetable garden and enjoys it when he can venture out in a city where he isn’t immediately recognized.
“He probably had more reason than anybody to change because of the accolades and attention and money and all that,” Strickland said. “But just like his snaps streak he has always been consistent in who he is. I think that has been the fun part for myself and his other friends to watch.
“He hasn’t changed as a person.”