David Garfield Thomas (born August 25, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He was selected in the eighth round of the

1993 NFL draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

Early life

Thomas attended Miami Beach Senior High School, where he received third-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and All-Conference honors in football as a senior. He also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track.

College career

He enrolled at Butler Community College, where he registered 7 interceptions as a freshman and 10 (second in the nation) as a sophomore, on his way to becoming one of the top

s in

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

. As a junior in 1990, he transferred to the

. He appeared in all 13 games as a backup cornerback, posting 17 tackles, one interception (returned for 51 yards against UTEP) and one pass defensed. As a senior in 1991, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. In October, an off-field incident caused him to lose his final year of sports eligibility at Tennessee. In 1992, he didn't play football but still stay at the school and graduate.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Even though he was out of

for two years, the

selected him in the eighth round (203rd overall) of the

. During his time with the team he was one of the tallest

s in the NFL and showed promise playing

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and in some of the nickel packages. He was a part of the Super Bowl XXVIII winning team. He appeared in 12 games and finished with 8

tackles. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he appeared in all 16 games as a backup cornerback. He collected 4 defensive tackles and 20

tackles (fourth on the team).

Jacksonville Jaguars

The

selected him from the Cowboys roster in the 1995 NFL expansion draft. He was the team's nickel cornerback and played in 16 games with 2 starts. He tallied 39 tackles, 8 passes defensed, one fumble recovery, one blocked punt and 12

tackles (second on the team) In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, he became the starting left cornerback after replacing Vinnie Clark in the fifth game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. In the ninth against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, he sustained a fractured left femur while covering an onside kick after colliding with teammate Dana Hall. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

on October 29. He tallied 36 tackles (2 for loss), 2 interceptions, 6 passes defensed and 5

tackles. He was replaced with rookie Aaron Beasley. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, although he was named starter at right cornerback and appeared in all 16 games, it has been speculated that he was never the same player after his injury. He collected a career-high 88 tackles, along with 2 interceptions, 15 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he started 12 out of 14 games at right cornerback. He missed 2 games and left 3 other contests early because of injuries. He recorded 69 tackles, one interception, 15 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles (led the team), 2 quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and 3

tackles. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, he was relegated to backup rookie Fernando Bryant at left cornerback and playing in the nickel defense. He finished with 15 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defensed, one blocked punt and 18

tackles, one punt block and one forced fumble on

New York Giants

On April 11,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

to play

and in the nickel defense, but was named the starter when Conrad Hamilton was injured and later waived. He was a part of the team that made

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...

and lost to the Baltimore Ravens. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he was replaced as the starter at left cornerback with Will Allen. He was released on March 1,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

References

External links

Thomas a Giant FindTennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Dave 1968 births Living people Miami Beach Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football cornerbacks Butler Grizzlies football players Tennessee Volunteers football players Dallas Cowboys players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players