28S | SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2023 | THE REPOSITORY
PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2023
Zach Thomas answers question at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on March 6. JULIE VENNITTI BOTOS/REPOSITORY
Zach Thomas
Continued from Page 27S
‘Measurements are overrated’
when it comes to Zach Thomas
When it comes to football, size does
not matter. At least, that’s how Thomas
looks at it. He would know.
He entered the NFL listed at 5-foot-11,
220 pounds, coming out of Texas Tech,
while the average inside linebacker was
over six foot.
In a draft class filled with talented
linebackers that included Ray Lewis and
Tedy Bruschi, Thomas was selected
154th overall.
Seventeen linebackers were drafted
ahead of him.
“A lot of these guys that came before
me when I came in the league, there
were big, plugger linebackers that were
6-foot-2, 6-foot-3,” Thomas said. “... I
saw the success they had in the NFL. It
motivated me.”
Thomas also acknowledged other
linebackers who came before him that
were around his size, including Ray
Lewis, who was 6-0 going into the NFL
and 5-9 Sam Mills, who was inducted
last season. Thomas continues down-
playing size advantages and measure-
ments.
“The measurements are overrated,”
Thomas said. “Just throw in the tape.
That’s where you find the players. It
doesn’t matter what size you are. I feel
like today if you look at a lot of lineback-
ers, they are not 6-foot-2.”
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Coach Jimmy Johnson will
present Zach Thomas
No one believed in Thomas more
than his first NFL head coach, Jimmy
Johnson. Johnson coached the Dol-
phins for three seasons after winning
two Super Bowls in four seasons coach-
ing the Dallas Cowboys.
Johnson gave Thomas the good news
of being inducted into the Hall of Fame
this past winter. Emotions ran high in-
side Thomas’ household once Johnson
came in and made the announcement.
“That’s my guy,” Thomas said. “He
drafted me. He’s the one who put me in
the starting lineup from the get-go, so I
never want to let that guy down.”
Johnson selected Thomas in the fifth
round of the 1996 NFL Draft. From Day
One, Johnson made Thomas the start-
ing middle linebacker. Johnson didn’t
have to worry about the Pampa, Texas
native when it came to game-planning
compared to his other teammates who
didn’t get the same treatment.
“Jimmy wasn’t really hard on me be-
cause he knew I was going to be there
when he got there and work, and also
when he left, my preparation was good,”
Thomas said. “But I learned a lot from
him and the position coaches that I had
with George Hill, Randy Shannon, to
Jim Bates. There are so many names
that helped me get (ready). My
See ZACH THOMAS, Page 29S