Solomon Thomas--Stanford

Originally posted by tjd808185:
Harbaugh is a Bo S product who wants to play physical time control football and yes that helps a d. Take that out though he brought in Fangio we had nothing to do with that.

13th is average bro. That ain't doing sh and Aldon, Whitner, Rogers was picked up under JH.

13th is the top half of the league. 32nd...is dead last.

There is a difference in taking a pretty good defensive talent team with additions of Navarro Bowman, Aldon Smith, Whitner, Rogers and Ray McDonald and saying we're good at DL after the disaster of a season our defense showed last year.

Honestly to the guys wanting to see how Armstead does, did anyone on here get excited by that pick? His potential is great but when we actually selected him did anyone say "that's a can't miss prospect we just drafted"?

I remember seeing him mocked to us and I was thinking, hopefully it's a smoke screen. Now I hope he develops to hit his potential but I don't see holes in Thomas' game and I want that type of player on this roster. Arik Armstead has shown flashes but flashes do nothing for me in terms of leaving a talent like Thomas on the board just so we can address another part of the team.

Last thing I want to see is 5 years from now Thomas is dominating for another team as one of the best linemen in the game and we're talking about how Armstead never lived up to his potential.

I'd much rather have a conversation in a couple of years "can we keep all 3 of Armstead, Buckner and Thomas or do we trade one away for a couple of first rounders?"

If your best options are a top level DT with edge potential or a top level Safety then you gotta go with the DT.

Theres a reason they get paid so much more than Safety's and a reason why Safetys are almost never drafted that high.

http://overthecap.com/position/safety/

http://overthecap.com/position/interior-defensive-line/

Originally posted by genus49:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Brooks & Lynch aren't true LEO's in this scheme though and neither is Thomas; Aldon, yes. We don't have any LEO's right now. Honestly, we wouldn't even need to move Thomas at the 3T at all. Just put on 15-20 pounds over the next couple years and master the 3T. Spell him here and there with Armstead, Blair and Mitchell. If you want to toggle him, he'd toggle between LDE/5T & RDT/3T best. But let these guys play their natural positions. And like in your mock, draft Tyus Bowser to be your LEO.

The only thing Aldon had over Thomas was length. Thomas smoked his combine numbers across the board and showed similar skills on the field.

Umm no. Is Charles Haley the same player as Bryant Young? Two totally different skill sets and you need both players. Stop trying to make Thomas something he isn't just b/c we have a massive hole at LEO.

I know these are just a few plays but this stuff translates well to the NFL. As he grows and matures and plays with the big boys he should only get better.

Originally posted by genus49:

13th is the top half of the league. 32nd...is dead last.

There is a difference in taking a pretty good defensive talent team with additions of Navarro Bowman, Aldon Smith, Whitner, Rogers and Ray McDonald and saying we're good at DL after the disaster of a season our defense showed last year.

Honestly to the guys wanting to see how Armstead does, did anyone on here get excited by that pick? His potential is great but when we actually selected him did anyone say "that's a can't miss prospect we just drafted"?

I remember seeing him mocked to us and I was thinking, hopefully it's a smoke screen. Now I hope he develops to hit his potential but I don't see holes in Thomas' game and I want that type of player on this roster. Arik Armstead has shown flashes but flashes do nothing for me in terms of leaving a talent like Thomas on the board just so we can address another part of the team.

Last thing I want to see is 5 years from now Thomas is dominating for another team as one of the best linemen in the game and we're talking about how Armstead never lived up to his potential.

I'd much rather have a conversation in a couple of years "can we keep all 3 of Armstead, Buckner and Thomas or do we trade one away for a couple of first rounders?"

Armsteads comp was Calais Campbell on a couple different draft profiles. That was with the exception that he actually fulfills his full potential. Haven't really seen it but who knows. Maybe we draft Thomas, and Armstead develops and we have a beast ass d line. Then your options after a couple years are either keep them all together or trade Armstead for a high pick on his contract year.

That's all in a perfect world though.

Originally posted by genus49:
I'd much rather have a conversation in a couple of years "can we keep all 3 of Armstead, Buckner and Thomas or do we trade one away for a couple of first rounders?"

Originally posted by NCommand:
Umm no. Is Charles Haley the same player as Bryant Young? Two totally different skill sets and you need both players. Stop trying to make Thomas something he isn't just b/c we have a massive hole at LEO.

What skill sets does Thomas not have that Aldon does outside of length?

Is he not fast enough? Is he not athletic enough? Is he not strong enough?

Originally posted by genus49:

What skill sets does Thomas not have that Aldon does outside of length?

Is he not fast enough? Is he not athletic enough? Is he not strong enough?

Great run stopper. Aldon was all about the pass rush. Aldon. Was an edge rusher and Thomas does most of his work from the interior on pass rushing downs

Originally posted by genus49:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Umm no. Is Charles Haley the same player as Bryant Young? Two totally different skill sets and you need both players. Stop trying to make Thomas something he isn't just b/c we have a massive hole at LEO.

What skill sets does Thomas not have that Aldon does outside of length?

Is he not fast enough? Is he not athletic enough? Is he not strong enough?

What skills sets does Young not have that Haley has?

Originally posted by genus49:
I know these are just a few plays but this stuff translates well to the NFL. As he grows and matures and plays with the big boys he should only get better.

I've gone back and watched a few more games of this and you see examples of this every game, he just outworks and flat out mauls people, even at the college level he shouldn't be able to throw guys around that easily. His play just jumps right out at you. As long as he stays healthy I see him being an absolute stud of a player in the NFL, IDGAF where you play him, just play him and let him wreak havoc.

"I can rush anywhere. I can play anywhere. I play every down. I'm great stopping the run, great rushing the quarterback. I'm very versatile. I have toughness. I try to get after every lineman and put the fear of God in them and make a play. I'm just trying to get to the quarterback every play and be destructful and wreak havoc."

Everything about Thomas screams that he is the Real McCoy and is going to be a damn good player in the NFL.

http://www.espn.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/104163/solomon-thomas-perfected-his-football-craft-in-the-boxing-ring

Ask almost any Stanford player about the program's rigorous offseason physical training regimen, and the usual response is a cringe mixed with a deep breath.But ask defensive lineman Solomon Thomas about the work, and it's hard to detect more than a shrug.

"It was fun," Thomas said. "How can you not enjoy grinding with your teammates at 6 a.m.?"

Those early-morning human tug-of-wars, sprints, John Deere cart pulls, and muscle-searing slow-release pull-ups -- some of the hallmarks of the program that sports performance director Shannon Turley has used to build the foundation of Stanford's celebrated trench strength - -- that's Thomas' version of "fun."

Perhaps it's not surprising, then, to learn that the junior sought out additional work -- in the form of boxing -- to prepare for what has already been a disruptive 2016 season. Through three games, Thomas has recorded 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and a touchdown off a fumble recovery at the end of Stanford's recent 22-13 win at UCLA.

Thomas traces some of his success back to a simple YouTube search, where he saw videos of NFL defensive linemen logging training time in the boxing ring.

"I wanted to make my hands more active, more violent and more quick," Thomas said. "I wanted to better understand my weight distribution and body language."

Through some online research, Thomas found Stan Martyniouk -- an accomplished boxer esteemed by legend Manny Pacquiao for his explosiveness. Pacquiao picked Martyniouk as his training partner to help him ready for his 2014 fight against Chris Algieri, and Thomas picked Martyniouk to be the trainer who would introduce him to the sport of boxing this past summer.

"I wasn't just going to go through the motions," Thomas said. "I was going to respect Stan and his time, and give him all I had. Because everything we were doing -- hips, hands, hand-eye coordination and hand coordination -- I knew it would all translate to the D-line. Everything made sense to me."

Martyniouk and Thomas began work at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos, located in a nondescript strip mall about 20 minutes north of Stanford's campus. An autographed Frank Gore jersey is on display near the gym's ring. The Indianapolis Colts running back boxed there when he played for the San Francisco 49ers, while Oakland Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson are still offseason regulars.

Thomas became the next star athlete to throw his name into that mix. His 6-foot-3, 273-pound frame was one of the biggest to ever step into the boxing gym, but it had a way of flying under the radar. At first, Martyniouk didn't know Thomas was one of the best defensive players in college football.

"All I knew was that Solomon played football," Martyniouk said. "But he was quiet and he didn't say much. He just came to work."

It didn't take long for Martyniouk and the Undisputed Boxing Gym to witness what Stanford coaches have seen since Thomas' early days on campus: a muscle-laden specimen who can reach 11 feet into the air on his vertical jumps -- even while weighing 273 pounds.

"I was amazed at how quick and explosive he was, for how big he was," Martinyouk said. "He's just super muscular, super strong and fit."

But even in peak physical condition for football, Thomas initially struggled. Martinyouk had him repeatedly slam a tire with a 12-pound hammer before stepping into the boxing ring for long sessions that demanded ferocious punching power and nimble footwork.

Solomon Thomas was confident that his work in the boxing ring would translate to his play on the defensive line"I was dying in our workouts," Thomas said.

Martyniouk then had the lineman emulate videos of heavyweights such as Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson so that he could settle into a boxing style that suited his big lineman's frame. The two sparred in training fashion, though Thomas never entered a full-fledged fight to avoid risking injury that would jeopardize his upcoming football season.

"Honestly, he'd probably do really well if we put him into the ring right now," Martyniouk said. "From day one, Solomon just pushed himself to the limit. He would not stop until I told him to stop. Some clients have to take breaks, but he doesn't take breaks. When I told him to do something, he did it. He's a machine."

Thomas shrugs off Martyniouk's compliments just as nonchalantly as he dismisses talk about the difficulty of Stanford's brutal offseason training regimen. Thomas doesn't avoid physical grinds; he seeks them out.

"I liked boxing so much this summer that I was already planning on coming back this winter," he said. "It's a new world to find myself in."

And although Thomas doubts he'll ever go the amateur fighting route after his football career is over, he can't completely rule it out, and hopes to take the entire Stanford football team to see one of Martyniouk's fights in the future.

"Maybe my competitive nature will make me try one fight when football is over," Thomas smiled.

That would be one scary fight for a potential opponent. Stanford defensive line coach Diron Reynolds says that "Solomon is the one kid you want to grow up and look like." That means that Thomas is not the guy you'd want to see on the opposite side of a boxing ring -- or the line of scrimmage, for that matter.

Originally posted by jcs:

Trubisky spent most of the season running and getting away from pass rushers, poor dude is still probably having nightmares about Thomas who was a relentless beast all game long.

^^^ Great find Phoenix.

BYII

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by jcs:

Trubisky spent most of the season running and getting away from pass rushers, poor dude is still probably having nightmares about Thomas who was a relentless beast all game long.

Thomas took over that game!

We just had a private workout with MT to ask him if he still has nightmares about $T.