UGA tailback Thomas still standing tall

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS — All his life, Carlton Thomas has been hearing that he’s too small.

“Never paid it any mind,” Georgia’s 5-foot-7, 180-pound tailback says.

And that attitude doesn’t change now, even if Richard Samuel — seven inches taller and 44 pounds heavier — has been declared the Bulldogs’ No. 1 tailback.

“I feel like there is room for all of us,” Thomas says.

No one in Georgia’s camp disputes that there can be a large role for the diminutive Thomas. Even as he named Samuel “a solid No. 1” late last week, coach Mark Richt was quick to add that Thomas “certainly” has impressed as well. A day later, quarterback Joe Cox told reporters that Thomas and eventually Caleb King will be needed to supplement Samuel in the effort to replace Knowshon Moreno.

“Somebody has got to be able to take some of the pressure off [Samuel],” Thomas said. “Everybody is going to get banged up, and you’ve got to spread it out. I’m not really upset. I feel like a rotation is just fine.”

In addition to rushing for 1,400 yards last season, Moreno was third on the team in receptions with 33 for 392 yards. Richt said Thomas has caught the ball well in practice, and Cox noted Thomas’ smooth hands are an inviting target.

“Catching out of the backfield and making plays in space — that is something I did a lot in high school,” Thomas said. “I feel like it’s an aspect of the game I can bring to the offense.”

In general, Thomas hardly seems subdued by losing, at least for now, the battle to be top Dog at tailback. “It’s not a setback,” he said. He is not a guy who sees setbacks.

Even after gaining almost 7,000 rushing yards at Frostproof (Fla.) High School, he was passed over by some college recruiters because of his size. Far from discouraging him, the skeptics inspired him.

“I think he is out here ready to prove people wrong,” Georgia running backs coach Bryan McClendon said. “But not only to prove people wrong, he’s also ready to prove himself right — which is always something positive.

“There is no doubt he is coming in with a chip on his shoulder,” McClendon added. “Hey, he’s been hearing he’s too small his whole life. If you look at him in high school, he was a darn good player, and some schools passed him up because of his size. I think that helps him be the player and the man that he is today.”

While the smallest of Georgia’s tailbacks, Thomas has been the most durable this year. He was on the field throughout spring practice, when Samuel was sidelined with a wrist injury, and he has been there throughout preseason practice, much of which King has missed with a hamstring injury. King, out since Aug. 12, remains sidelined.

Redshirted as a freshman last season, Thomas eagerly awaits his college debut Sept. 5 at Oklahoma State.

“I’m ready,” he said. “I’m ready to go out and pretty much showcase what I’ve got.”

Thomas, who weighed 163 pounds when he arrived in Athens from his central Florida home a year ago, says he has added 17 pounds, including 10 since the spring. He is, of course, still 5-foot-7.

Not surprisingly, his all-time favorite running back is 5-foot-8 Barry Sanders, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“He probably got the same grief I got about being small,” Thomas said.

Carlton Thomas file

Position: Tailback

Class: Redshirt freshman

Size: 5-foot-7, 180 pounds

Hometown: Frostproof, Fla.

Major: Education