BOULDER — Guy Thomas is back.
The Buffs’ outside linebacker missed the last five games of his breakout junior season with a foot injury, but after a few months of recovery he’s back on the field.
“I still feel like Guy Thomas,” he told DNVR. “I still feel fast, explosive.”
After rotating in for about a third of CU’s defensive snaps in 2020, Thomas’ big break came in 2021. He notched a sack in limited work in the season-opener against Northern Colorado, before bursting onto the scene against Texas A&M. The Buffs held the fifth-ranked team in the country to 10 points and Thomas was at the forefront of the effort.
Guy Thomas was a terror on the edge, A&M struggled to block him one-on-one and resorted to double-teaming him late in the game. It didn't matter.
(for my money this is a sack. a shame it wasn't scored as such. pic.twitter.com/DLWnuqgdua
— Jake Schwanitz (@JakeDNVR) September 16, 2021
The Miami native provided three quarterback pressures, which tied for the most on the team. He also added four run stops, which was the second most on the team behind star linebacker Nate Landman. For reference, nobody else recorded more than one.
“It was really fun,” Thomas said. “I was really pumped up that game. We wanted to come out with the win but we fell short of that. But playing a team like Texas A&M I wanted to compete with the top guys in the country. They have a lot of them. I was really excited to get on the field and show what I can do.”
Thomas kept his momentum going the next week against Minnesota with a career-best seven tackles.
Go get it @17sackmangt 💪
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/oXVDRZDCJa pic.twitter.com/cOXC8GjijC— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 18, 2021
According to Pro Football Focus, three of the four best games of Thomas’ career came in his final three games of the season. (The other was against Utah in 2020.)
.@17sackmangt forced fumble 🤝 @PresidentialMP recovery pic.twitter.com/gHxkoWqpRK
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) October 6, 2021
But Thomas’ season was cut short after the Cal game and he joined a host of impact players who missed the final stretch of the season.
“It was challenging for me mentally after I got the injury,” Thomas said. “It just happened out of nowhere. Doing something that I do often—I pass rush—my foot is bending in a weird way. I would say everything happens for a reason. I’m kind of glad that it did happen because I got a chance to sit back and watch.”
In January, Thomas announced he was coming back for his super-senior season.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZALkN2uer1/
He also mentioned that he will earn his Master’s degree after the 2022 fall semester. Not only will he be the first in his family to earn a Master’s degree, he was also the first to earn a Bachelor’s degree.
“I’m a chain-breaker,” Thomas said. “To be honest, a younger Guy wouldn’t believe that (I would earn a Master’s), based off my circumstances.”
Last week, CU announced its academic awards for student-athletes. Thomas won the Clancy A. Herbst, Jr. Award, which goes to an athlete who overcame personal, academic or emotional challenges to succeed both academically and athletically.
“It means a lot; the academic staff recognizing me for overcoming my challenges,” Thomas said. “Them telling me, ‘I see you,’ it really means a lot. It’s something that I can look back on and have as a receipt of what I can get accomplished.”
While Thomas’ work in the classroom shouldn’t be understated, he also has plenty on the line on the football field this year. He’s on the short list of players who could earn all-conference honors this season.
New CU outside linebackers coach says he looks like last year, which is a big step in the right direction.
“He’s pretty close,” Wilson said. “He’s really competing at a high level and I think he understands the significance of this offseason and how big it is for him.”
