Zach Thomas
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| Zach Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 1, 1973 (age 33) |
| Place of birth |  Pampa, Texas |
| Position(s) | Middle linebacker |
| College | Texas Tech |
| NFL Draft | 1996 / Round 5/ Pick 154 |
| Pro Bowls | 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1996-current | Miami Dolphins |
Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973, in Pampa, Texas) is an American football player for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League; Thomas is a linebacker, and has been with Miami for the ten seasons he has been in the NFL. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl seven times, and has recorded over 1500 tackles.
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[edit] High school and college
He attended Pampa High School in Pampa, Texas where he was named first team All-state as a senior. 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.[1]
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.
[edit] NFL
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 apperences in club history; this is also the most of such selections amongst all defensive players in Dolphins history.
[edit] Personal life
Thomas' agent is Drew Rosenhaus.
Thomas owns a health club run by his brother Bart Thomas in Amarillo, Texas, "Zach's Club 54".
Thomas is brother-in-law to teammate and fellow defensive captain Jason Taylor.
Thomas' father is millionaire Steve Thomas who constructed the largest cross in the Northern Hemisphere; this cross is located between Interstate 40 and old Route 66 west of Groom, Texas.
Zach Thomas was inducted into the Texas Tech Red Raiders Hall of Fame in 2006.
