Zach Thomas

Infobox NFLactive
name=Zach Thomas


width=
caption=
currentteam=Dallas Cowboys
currentnumber=55
currentpositionplain=Linebacker
birthdate=birth date and age|1973|9|1
birthplace=Pampa, Texas
heightft=5
heightin=11
weight=228
debutyear=1996
debutteam=Miami Dolphins
college=Texas Tech
draftyear=1996
draftround=5
draftpick=154
pastteams=
* Miami Dolphins (1996-2007)
* Dallas Cowboys (2008-present)
status=Active
highlights=
* College awards and honors
* 7x "AP" All-Pro (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006)
* 7x Pro Bowl selection (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006)
* Other NFL awards and honors
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=982
statlabel2=Sacks
statvalue2=19.5
statlabel3=INTs
statvalue3=17
nfl=THO415247

Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973 in Pampa, Texas) is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Tech.

Thomas played for the Dolphins his first 12 seasons in the NFL. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl seven times and has recorded over 1,800 tackles.

Early years

He attended White Deer Schools in White Deer, Texas until he was a junior then transferred to Pampa High School in Pampa, Texas his junior year where he was named first team All-state as a senior.

College career

At Texas Tech, he was a three-year starter as linebacker. He was a finalist for the Butkus Award, was the Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and was a consensus All-America in his junior and senior years. He recorded 390 tackles, including a career-high 131 tackles and a school-record 20 tackles against Missouri in his senior season. During the 1995 game against Texas A&M, Thomas returned an interception to gain a 14–7 win for Tech.cite web|url=http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2007/03/26/Sports/Greatest.Tech.Athelete.Poll.Wes.Welker.And.Zach.Thomas.Profiles-2790280.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition|title=Greatest Tech athelete poll: Wes Welker and Zach Thomas profiles|publisher="The Daily Toreador"|date=March 26, 2007]

Zach and his older brother Bart were the first pair of brothers to be named first team All Southwest Conference in the same year. The brothers also were high school teammates at White Deer High School in White Deer, Texas; in 1988, Thomas' freshman year, the team went 16–0 and were class 1A state champs.

College awards and honors

* Second-team "Houston Chronicle" All-SWC (1993)
* Second-team "Houston Post" All-SWC (1993)
* First-team UPI All-American (1994)
* Second-team "Football News" All-American (1994)
* Second-team "Sporting News" All-American (1994)
* 2x SWC Defensive Player of the Year (1994, 1995)
* Consensus All-American (1995)
* First-team All-SWC (1995)

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Thomas was drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Thomas led the Dolphins in tackles with 165 in 2005 after missing two games with ankle and shoulder injuries; he is also one of three players to record one hundred or more tackles in each of his first ten seasons in the NFL. Thomas was selected to his seventh Pro Bowl appearance in 2006, tied for the third most Pro Bowl appearances in club history; this is also the most of such selections among all defensive players in Dolphins history. He has also been selected First and Second Team All-Pro seven times.

Zach Thomas has more tackles than any linebacker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, currently ranking fourth all-time behind Randy Gradishar, Jessie Tuggle and Junior Seau.

Thomas' tenure with the Dolphins ended on February 14, 2008 when it was announced by the team that he no longer fit into their long term plans. [ [http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7797362?MSNHPHMA Dolphins release seven-time Pro Bowler Thomas] ]

Dallas Cowboys

On February 23, 2008 after contract offers from the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, Thomas decided to sign in principle with the Dallas Cowboys to a 1 year $3 million contract. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3260529 Sources: Thomas chooses Cowboys over Pats, Saints] ] The deal includes a $1 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and a $1 million incentive-based bonus based on playing time that agent Drew Rosenhaus said should be easily attained. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3260529 Thomas appears headed home to Texas, deal with Dallas] ]

Awards and honors

In addition to being a seven-time All-Pro selection by the "Associated Press" and a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Thomas earned the following awards and honors in his NFL career:
* NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month (October 1996)
* All-Rookie selection by "College & Pro Football Newsweekly", "The Football News", "Pro Football Weekly" and Pro Football Writers of America (1996)
* AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year (1996)
* Dolphins' 1996 Unsung Hero Award as selected by NFLPA
* Dolphins MVP and Newcomer of the Year by South Florida media (1996)
* Pro Bowl alternate (1996)
* AFC Defensive Player of the Month (September 1998)
* 2x NFL Alumni Association's Linebacker of the Year (1998, 2006)
* First-team All-Pro selection by the "USA Today", "College & Pro Football Newsweekly" and "Football Digest" (1998)
* 1998 All-Madden Team (1998)
* 3x Dolphins' Leadership Award (1998, 1999, 2005)
* Weeks 1 & 16 2001 AFC Defensive Player of the Week (2001)
* Dolphins MVP by South Florida media and fans (2001)
* All-Iron Team as selected by CBS analyst Phil Simms (2001)
* PFWA Dolphins Chapter "Good Guy" Award (2001)
* First-team "Pro Football Weekly" All-AFC (2002)
* First-team "Sports Illustrated" All-Pro (2003)
* Second-team "Football Digest" All-Pro (2003)
* Week 14 AFC Defensive Player of the Week (2005)
* All-AFC selection by "Pro Football Weekly" and the Pro Football Writers of America (2006)
* More tackles than any linebacker currently in the Hall of Fame

References

External links

* [http://lb.dallascowboys.com/team_bios.cfm?playerID=6271E95C-B66C-8B40-452F2A857CAADC50 Dallas Cowboys bio]