Daniel Thomas (born October 29, 1987) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Kansas State. He was selected by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

in the second round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

High school career

Thomas rushed 103 times for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns at quarterback as a senior at

Hilliard Middle-Senior High School Hilliard Middle-Senior High School is a State school#United States, public Secondary education in the United States, combined middle-senior high school located in Hilliard, Florida. It is part of the Nassau County, Florida#Public – Nassau County ...

Hilliard, Florida Hilliard is a town in Nassau County, Florida, United States; north-west of Jacksonville. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,967. In 2003, Hilliard was chosen as the "2003 Rural Community of the Year" by Florida governor Jeb Bush, because ...

. He threw for 936 yards and added 11 touchdowns. He also chipped in 57 tackles and one interception as a senior safety. He earned all-state honors as both a quarterback and linebacker. As a Junior, Thomas rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown and also had 34 receptions for 596 yards and four touchdowns primarily playing WR on a team that also featured Ralph Bolden who was an All-Big 10 performer at RB for Purdue in 2009. Thomas was also a stand-out basketball player in High School, earning All-Nassau county honors while averaging 17.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

College career

Junior college

Thomas rushed for over 500 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman and helped lead Northwest Mississippi CC to a division championship. Thomas accounted for 618 yards and six touchdowns in 2007 on 103 carries and also threw for 450 yards and two scores. Thomas capped off his junior college career by becoming a JUCO All-American. Unable to qualify academically for Kansas State in July 2008, Thomas spent the 2008 season at

Butler County Community College Butler County Community College (BC3) is a public community college in Butler Township, Pennsylvania. It also offers courses in Cranberry Township, as well as in Lawrence, Mercer, and Jefferson counties. More recently the college has begun to ...

and

Manhattan Christian College Manhattan Christian College (MCC) is a private Christian college in Manhattan, Kansas. It was founded in 1927 as Christian Workers University. The institution's name was changed to Manhattan Bible College in 1930 and Manhattan Christian College ...

in order to meet academic requirements.

Kansas State

Thomas came to Kansas State as a four-star prospect by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and the number 35 junior college prospect in the nation. He was also a three-star prospect by

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. He was rated as the No. 8 JUCO prospect in the state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

by the Sun Herald. Thomas was voted the 2009 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-Big 12 First-team. Thomas gave the Wildcats their third straight Offensive Newcomer of the Year award winner and league-leading fourth overall. Brandon Banks and Deon Murphy were honored in 2008 and 2007, respectively, joining K-State’s first honoree, Michael Bishop in 1997. Thomas rushed for 1,265 yards on 247 carries, averaging 5.1 yards and 11 touchdowns. At the close of his KSU career, Thomas ranked second in school history in career rushing yards, single season rushing yards, number three in carries in a career, number four in rushing touchdowns, number two in single season rushing touchdowns, number six in single season all-purpose yards, number five in all-time all-purpose yards.

College statistics

''*FBS totals only''

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Thomas was taken with the 62nd overall pick in the second round of the

by the

. On July 29, 2011, he signed a 4-year contract. Thomas found early success in the NFL, rushing for 107 yards in Week 2 and 95 yards with a receiving touchdown in Week 3. He injured his hamstring and was not able to play again until Week 6. Thomas finished the season with 581 yards, but no rushing touchdowns. The Dolphins released Thomas on August 30, 2014 for final roster cuts before the start of the 2014 season. Thomas was re-signed on September 15, 2014, after an injury to Knowshon Moreno.

Chicago Bears

On June 18, 2015, the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

signed Thomas to a one-year contract. He was released on August 30, 2015.

Second stint with Dolphins

Thomas signed with the Miami Dolphins on March 31, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Dolphins as part of final roster cuts.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Thomas signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in January 2017. He was released on June 1, 2017

References

External links

Official websiteMiami Dolphins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Daniel 1987 births Living people People from Hilliard, Florida American football running backs Canadian football running backs American players of Canadian football Northwest Mississippi Rangers football players Kansas State Wildcats football players Miami Dolphins players Chicago Bears players Saskatchewan Roughriders players