Terrell Thomas

Terrell R. Thomas (born January 8, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans. He was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. He is also only the second player in NFL history, after linebacker Thomas Davis, to play a down in the league after suffering from three torn ACLs in the same knee.

Early life Thomas prepped at Rancho Cucamonga High School.

Received a scholarship offer from Oregon State and was labeled one of the most athletic players in the state after his sophomore year.

As a junior, he racked up 78 tackles and 5 interceptions, and had 15 catches for 250 yards and 6 touchdowns. Received All Baseline League honors for the second year in a row.

As a senior, he had 300 yards receiving to go with 5 touchdowns. He rushed for 1,300 yards and had 16 rushing touchdowns. He added 600 yards returning for a total of 2,200 yards of total offense. On the defensive side of the ball he had 115 tackles, 7 deflections, 4 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He was named the league's MVP and Area Offensive Player of the year. He was selected to the 2002 Super Prep All-American team, All CIF Division II first team, Tom Lemming All-West, LA Times All-Inland Empire First Team and Press Telegram's Best in the West First Team.

College career

Thomas played college football at the University of Southern California under head coach Pete Carroll. He was named a 2007 third-team preseason All-American. He was also named to the 2007 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List.

As a senior at USC in 2007, he had 57 passes thrown his way, allowing only 29.8% of those passes to be completed. He gave up 17 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown. On average he gave up 8.76 yards per catch and allowed 2.61 yards per pass attempt. He also had four interceptions and was voted to his second straight All-Pac-10 second team. Prior to the start of 2007 spring drills, Thomas underwent surgery to repair a left shoulder dislocation. He returned to start all 13 games and again received All-Pac-10 second-team recognition. Thomas ranked ninth on the squad with 45 tackles (31 solo) and had a sack with 4.5 stops for losses. He forced three fumbles, recovered another and batted away seven passes. He also gained 44 yards on four interception returns. He was the senior member and leader of the secondary that held Brady Quinn to his lowest college completion percentage in a November 2006 game. He was a coaches and Rivals.com second-team all-Pac-10 in 2006.

In 2005, Thomas took over strong side (right) cornerback for the first two games of the 2005 season, but he suffered torn ligaments in his right knee against Arkansas, underwent surgery and was lost for the rest of the year. He finished with five solo tackles and a pass break-up. Thomas reclaimed his right cornerback job in 2006, earning All-Pac-10 Conference second-team honors. He ranked seventh on the team with 50 tackles (35 solo) and had three sacks for losses of 32 yards. He added two fumble recoveries, including one he returned for a touchdown. He also intercepted two passes and deflected 12 others. In 2004, Thomas played in 11 games as a reserve cornerback after moving over from free safety in spring drills; most of his playing time was in the dime packages and on special teams. He made nine tackles (seven solo), but also batted away a pair of passes and intercepted two others.

Professional career

New York Giants 2008 Thomas was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, after projecting to be a third-round pick.

Thomas missed games in his rookie season due to injuries. When he recovered from his injury he played behind Corey Webster and Aaron Ross. Thomas made the first interception of his NFL career against the Arizona Cardinals in week 12 of the 2008 NFL season, returning it 13 yards. Thomas ended his rookie season by playing in 12 games and starting two. He mostly played in nickel packages and contributed in special teams. He accounted for 45 tackles, one interception, four passes defended and one forced fumble.

2009

In the 2009 season, Thomas was once again behind Webster and Ross on the depth chart. During training camp Ross was hampered by a hamstring injury. This move allowed Thomas to take snaps as the second corner. Ross's inability to heal from his hamstring injury placed Thomas as the starting corner for the 2009 season. Thomas took advantage of the opportunity; before the bye, Thomas had 41 tackles, nine passes defended, three interceptions, one sack and one forced fumble. Aaron Ross was able to come back after the bye but Thomas held on firmly to his starting spot. Ross was asked to split time as free safety due to lack of depth at the position. When the Giants played the Washington Redskins, Thomas contributed four tackles, two passes defended, and one interception that was returned for a touchdown in a Giants' victory of 45–12. Thomas finished the season as the number one corner because of injuries to Corey Webster and Aaron Ross being placed on injured reserve. His stats were 85 tackles (the highest on the team), five interceptions, one sack, 18 passes defended and one forced fumble. He was tied for twelfth in interceptions in the league.

2011

On August 22, 2011, in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears, Thomas tore his ACL, ending his season. He was placed on injured reserve on August 23. On March 13, 2012, Thomas re-signed with the Giants.

2012

Thomas suffered an injury to his surgically repaired ACL early in training camp, but he expected to recover and return sometime during the 2012 season. On August 31, 2012, Thomas was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

2013

In 2013, Thomas became the second player to come back from three torn ACLs in the same knee, joining Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, who tore his ACL in each year from 2009 to 2011.

Seattle Seahawks On July 28, 2014, Thomas was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. Thomas was cut by the Seahawks on August 24, 2014.

On February 12, 2015, Thomas announced his retirement.

Statistics Year Team Games Combined tackles Tackles Assisted tackles Sacks Forced rumbles Fumble recoveries Fumble Return Yards Interceptions Interception Return Yards Average Yards per Interception Return Longest Interception Return Interceptions Returned for Touchdown Pass Defended Stuffs Stuff Yards Kicks Blocked 2008 NYG 12 45 39 6 0.0 1 0 0 1 13 13 13 0 4 4 9 1 2009 NYG 16 85 70 15 1.0 1 0 0 5 87 17 33 1 13 6 21 0 2010 NYG 16 101 81 20 1.0 4 1 0 5 56 11 28 0 21 4 10 1 2013 NYG 16 67 58 9 1.0 1 0 0 1 65 65 65 0 7 1 2 0 Total Total 60 298 248 50 3.0 7 1 0 12 221 18 65 1 45 15 42 2