Thomas reaches goal

He is now a grown-up. A young man.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” he said. “I look at a lot of stuff differently. It’s crazy when you think about it, but nobody is guaranteed tomorrow.”

Thomas played with a sense of time and purpose during the 2004 football season. He quarterbacked the Riverdale Warriors to a 15-0 record. He shared in the program’s fourth state title. He was named Class 5A Mr. Football Back of the Year.

Thomas rushed for more than 1,100 yards. He passed for more than 1,100 yards. He accounted for 31 total touchdowns. For the most part, he was unstoppable.

Today he is honored as The Tennessean’s All-Midstate Football Player of the Year.

All of those achievements would give some players an aura of invincibility. Not Thomas.

“I thought about Jacqui when I played,” he said. “I played for her every game.”

Jacqui McDaniel, a senior at Riverdale and Thomas’ girlfriend, survived a near-death experience two weeks before the Warriors began their title run in August. An accident on a mo-ped left her in a coma with serious head injuries, multiple broken bones and partial paralysis.

There were plenty of sleepless nights ahead for the football team’s fleet-footed leader.

“I think Dave made it something to keep him focused and give him drive,” said Spike McDaniel, Jacqui’s older brother and Thomas’ former Riverdale teammate. “With something like that going on, it helps you realize how lucky you are to be playing football. Dave told her he was going to score three touchdowns for her every game, and he did that almost every time.”

McDaniel’s condition improved as Thomas beat down opposing defenses. Her long journey to recovery, which includes 2-3 hours of rehabilitation each day, began at Vanderbilt Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit and moved to Atlanta for a month and a half.

“Dave talked to a few of us about Jacqui during the season,” Riverdale center Justin Jones said. “He was upset, but he knew she would want him to keep playing.

“I know the week after the accident, he stayed at the hospital with her from the time practice ended until late at night. When she moved to Atlanta, he went down there weekends. He stayed committed to her and to the team. It was a very big maturing process for him.”

McDaniel was back in Murfreesboro to cheer Thomas as he led Riverdale through the playoffs. When he directed a 35-7 win over Franklin in the BlueCross Bowl at MTSU, she was there.

Jacqui’s father, Riverdale assistant coach Don McDaniel, wrote last week on his daughter’s Web site (www.jacquimac.com) that she was able to dance with the assistance of friends and get some Christmas shopping done.

“I’ve talked to Don a lot through this … a lot,” Thomas said. “He helped get me through it.

“A lot of people feel sorry for her. It stinks that it happened, but I don’t think people should feel sorry for her. She might look a little different, but she’s the same ol’ Jacqui. I want to stress that.

“The great thing was that with each team we played, I had 10 players ask me about her after the game and tell me they were praying for her. I thought that was pretty cool.”

It was also pretty cool to watch Thomas run. It wasn’t just his speed that gave defenses so much trouble. It was his ability to cut back. It was the way he made people miss.

Facing a third-and-six on Riverdale’s opening possession of the BlueCross Bowl, Thomas optioned right and was met in the backfield by a Franklin lineman. He should have been dropped for a loss. The Warriors should have punted.

Instead, Thomas weaseled free. He slipped a second tackle as he passed the line of scrimmage and reversed field to gain 30 yards. Two plays later Riverdale was in the end zone with a 7-0 lead.

“He was really elusive,” Franklin linebacker Steven Hotard said. “He reads his blocks better than most quarterbacks do. I see him as more of a running back than a quarterback.”

Said Thomas: “I really just make people think I’m going one way, then I cut back into traffic. A lot of defenses don’t think a quarterback will do that.

“They always think I’m going outside, but I don’t think I have the speed to run outside.”

Thomas plans to play college football. East Carolina, Virginia Tech, MTSU and Memphis have shown interest.

Wherever he goes, Thomas can draw from a trying and triumphant senior year of high school.

It was the year he grew up.

“I’ll remember Jacqui and what happened, and I’ll remember this team,” Thomas said. “It will be a combination of both.”