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Aggies coaches continue courting Thomas
8-13-02
By ROB DANIELS, Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- When they signed Theron Thomas out of Dudley High School, N.C. A&T's coaches presumed the process of recruiting and wooing was over. Turns out that it was just getting started.
"Coaches have been bickering over where he's going to play. I'm refereeing fights here," Aggies coach Bill Hayes joked Monday. "He's at cornerback right now, but our wide receivers coach is having lunch with him. He's trying to influence him to come over there."
Thomas, an all-county and all-conference pick who intercepted seven passes for the Panthers last year, is but one of 12 to 15 rookies who could see time in the first month of the season, Hayes predicted. All in all, it's looking like one of the deepest collections of new Aggies in recent years.
While hesitant to proclaim any one guy the most impressive, Hayes was especially praising of Thomas, the 5-foot-10, 167-pounder who came up from the Dudley secondary to make 53 tackles last season.
"We like our cornerbacks to be a little taller, but he's so athletic and he's such a smart kid," the coach said.
Bet on seeing Thomas in the defensive backfield, where depth may be more important than at any other position in September. A&T will play its home opener against Jackson State, which led Division I-AA with 344 passing yards a game last season; a week later, the Aggies will travel to 17th-ranked Portland State, which ranked seventh at 290 per contest. No other team in the country faces two such powerful throwing offenses in the first month.
Also making a mark defensively has been tackle Marcus Lewis, a transfer from Clemson whose ACC career began to unravel when he tore a knee in 2000. Before getting hurt, he made three tackles for losses in seven games that season.
"He may be our next Chris McNeil," Hayes said, referring to the 1997 Buck Buchanan Award winner who had 21 sacks.
On the other side of the ball, freshman Marshall Glenn and junior-college transfer Jason Douglas seem to have picked up a new, diversified offense well at quarterback, Hayes said. But the easiest offensive newcomer to spot has probably been 6-4, 330-pound Josh Major of Washington. Whether it's Major or somebody else, a true freshman is likely to start at right tackle when the Aggies face N.C. Central at N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium on Sept. 1 -- a prospect that isn't as frightening as you might imagine.
"It's a freshman-friendly offensive system -- if there is such a term," said line coach Keith Wagner, a former New York Giant and Jacksonville Jaguar. "If we played the way we did last year -- when we had to turn every game into a street fight -- it might not have been so easy."
A&T could also get help out of Lee County's Nigel Blue, one of the fastest high school athletes in the state in the spring. Blue took third in the 100-meter dash at the Class 4-A championship and is the only football player of the top three.
Hayes said it's hard to evaluate the progress of Smith graduate J.J. Thompson because the portion of the offense geared to the 5-11, 235-pound runner hasn't been fully installed. Thompson recorded 1,235 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Eagles in 2001.
A&T will conduct three practices today, Wednesday and Saturday. Classes will begin Monday.
8-13-02
By ROB DANIELS, Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- When they signed Theron Thomas out of Dudley High School, N.C. A&T's coaches presumed the process of recruiting and wooing was over. Turns out that it was just getting started.
"Coaches have been bickering over where he's going to play. I'm refereeing fights here," Aggies coach Bill Hayes joked Monday. "He's at cornerback right now, but our wide receivers coach is having lunch with him. He's trying to influence him to come over there."
Thomas, an all-county and all-conference pick who intercepted seven passes for the Panthers last year, is but one of 12 to 15 rookies who could see time in the first month of the season, Hayes predicted. All in all, it's looking like one of the deepest collections of new Aggies in recent years.
While hesitant to proclaim any one guy the most impressive, Hayes was especially praising of Thomas, the 5-foot-10, 167-pounder who came up from the Dudley secondary to make 53 tackles last season.
"We like our cornerbacks to be a little taller, but he's so athletic and he's such a smart kid," the coach said.
Bet on seeing Thomas in the defensive backfield, where depth may be more important than at any other position in September. A&T will play its home opener against Jackson State, which led Division I-AA with 344 passing yards a game last season; a week later, the Aggies will travel to 17th-ranked Portland State, which ranked seventh at 290 per contest. No other team in the country faces two such powerful throwing offenses in the first month.
Also making a mark defensively has been tackle Marcus Lewis, a transfer from Clemson whose ACC career began to unravel when he tore a knee in 2000. Before getting hurt, he made three tackles for losses in seven games that season.
"He may be our next Chris McNeil," Hayes said, referring to the 1997 Buck Buchanan Award winner who had 21 sacks.
On the other side of the ball, freshman Marshall Glenn and junior-college transfer Jason Douglas seem to have picked up a new, diversified offense well at quarterback, Hayes said. But the easiest offensive newcomer to spot has probably been 6-4, 330-pound Josh Major of Washington. Whether it's Major or somebody else, a true freshman is likely to start at right tackle when the Aggies face N.C. Central at N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium on Sept. 1 -- a prospect that isn't as frightening as you might imagine.
"It's a freshman-friendly offensive system -- if there is such a term," said line coach Keith Wagner, a former New York Giant and Jacksonville Jaguar. "If we played the way we did last year -- when we had to turn every game into a street fight -- it might not have been so easy."
A&T could also get help out of Lee County's Nigel Blue, one of the fastest high school athletes in the state in the spring. Blue took third in the 100-meter dash at the Class 4-A championship and is the only football player of the top three.
Hayes said it's hard to evaluate the progress of Smith graduate J.J. Thompson because the portion of the offense geared to the 5-11, 235-pound runner hasn't been fully installed. Thompson recorded 1,235 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Eagles in 2001.
A&T will conduct three practices today, Wednesday and Saturday. Classes will begin Monday.
