Covering all corners
9/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Confidence.
No matter who you talk to about fifth-year senior defensive back Brannan Thomas, they’ll always bring up confidence.
“Brannan provides the coaches and players with a lot of stability in the defensive backfield,” said Mountain Hawks head coach Andy Coen. “He’s probably the best cover corner in the Patriot League this season and because of that, he allows us to be more aggressive on defense.”
The funny thing is that Thomas wasn’t always a defensive back. At the Glades Day School in Belle Glade, Fla., Thomas was the go-to wide receiver: making spectacular plays on balls thrown to him, and returning punts. He also played a solid corner on defense, but the offense was why people knew him. Thomas was a three-sport star at Glades Day, leading his football, basketball and baseball teams to district championships in his senior year.
“All the college coaches wanted my recruiting videos, and when they got them the first four plays they saw were of me intercepting passes and returning them for touchdowns,” Thomas laughed. “They probably weren’t expecting that, but it showed what I could do.”
Even during Thomas’s freshman season, the coaches had him all over the field. He was listed as a punter on the team’s depth chart so he could travel to the University of Connecticut for a game that season.
“The coaches told me during my freshman year that I’d have more of a chance to get on the field playing defensive back than wide receiver, and so I chose corner,” he said. “I love to play, and if this was the way I was going to get out there, I was going to do it. Nobody wants to sit on the bench and watch, especially me.”
Since that point, Thomas has played primarily corner while getting playing time at wide out and punt returner. In his freshman season, he played in ten games, recording 13 tackles and intercepting three passes. He moved to corner almost full-time in 2005, and his numbers skyrocketed. He made 38 total tackles, intercepted three more passes, including two versus Lafayette, and broke up 16 other passes. Last season, Thomas kept rolling wrapping up 20 tackles and intercepting three passes yet again.
It won’t be any different in 2007, as Thomas will get a chance to return kicks while starting at corner. “I really love having the ball in my hands,” he said. “Being a punt returner gives me that shot.”
Coen believes that Thomas can make a big impact in the return game again this season. “We’re going to put him back there because we know we can count on him,” Coen said. “He’s fearless, and he’s able to catch the ball in traffic after playing corner for so long. Those are two things that you need to have in a punt returner, trust and fearlessness.”
Along with senior safety Ernest “Emo”
While Thomas was honored with the captain selection, he hasn’t let it change the way he holds himself. “It’s definitely an honor and humbling at the same time,” he said. “The guys think of me as a leader, and because of that, I haven’t changed at all. They elected me their leader because of what I did before, so I’m just going to keep doing what I’m supposed to. My guys know that I’m going to make plays, and that when I strap my pads on, I’m coming to play.”
Even though football is a huge part of his life, Thomas has also found an interest in the sciences while at Lehigh. He is an Earth and Environmental Sciences major because according to him, “You really have to understand the world if you’re going to change or shape it yourself.”
Thomas is interested in the global warming phenomenon as well as the issue of hurricanes after living in
“I feel that I’m a student of the game,” said Thomas. “And I really enjoy mentoring and teaching the younger guys on the team, as well as learning all I can about football. Becoming a college coach, or a coach on any level would be a big step for me.”
Coen sees the ability to lead in Thomas. “He’s had some great mentors, whether it be in high school or here at Lehigh, and he always speaks highly of them,” he said. “Brannan has the skills to be a coach, and I think if he pursues it as hard as his football and his studies, that he’ll be successful.”
As for the 2007 season, Thomas has a number of goals. “First, we’ve got to beat that team from down the road,” he said, referring to a November 17th clash with archrival Lafayette. “Next, we’re going to do everything we can to win a Patriot League title, and then make some noise in the playoffs. To me, you’ll never be content unless you can achieve the greatest goals you can think of.”
Written by Matt Shelosky, Media Relations Assistant
