Perseverance pays off

The ability to overcome adversity is not something that can be measured in a 40-yard dash or any other drill.

For the scouts and general managers who interviewed University of Manitoba Bisons linebacker Nick Thomas at last week’s CFL National Combine in Edmonton, it’s an ability they know he most definitely has.

Before Thomas became a star defender at the U of M, he grew up in Surrey, B.C., where he spent most of his childhood in foster care. His father Eddie Lee Thomas, a defensive back from Chicago who played six CFL seasons in the 1990s, had some legal troubles and was deported to the United States and his mother was unable to look after him and his sister.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

U of M Bisons linebacker Nick Thomas: Academic all-Canadian and first-team all-Canadian on the gridiron.

They ended up in 10 different foster homes over the years.

“I like to say I’m mentally tough. Dealing with real life stuff is a lot different than training or getting injured,” said Thomas, who’s recovering from a torn ligament in his right foot that limited him to just two games last season. Thomas was only able to partake in the bench press and vertical jump at the combine.

“Honestly, it’s just about getting up the next day and putting in the work. I don’t feel sorry for myself a lot. You just wake up, put the work in with school and everything else.”

Even though his dad was a former CFL division all-star, Thomas started out playing rugby. He didn’t strap on the helmet and pads until Grade 12 when he signed up to play community football for the Langley Stampeders.

You could tell he was inexperienced, but the potential was there.

His cousin Jordan Linnen used to play defensive back for the Bisons, leading to Thomas sending head coach Brian Dobie an email expressing his interest in the program. Thomas didn’t hear back, so he reached out again, and this time included a highlight tape.

Long story short, Thomas arrived on campus in 2018 and has been a member of the Herd ever since.

He was one of two Bisons at the combine as defensive lineman Collin Kornelson, a product of St. Paul’s High School, was also there. The five-day event featured nearly 100 national and global prospects.

“Community ball is terrible football. Nobody recruits out of there, right? But wow, his film was crazy good. You could see his rawness, but unmistakably his athleticism and the way he played was 100 miles an hour and that’s never changed from that day I saw the film until now,” said Dobie.

“In my whole career, he’s one of my favourite players I’ve ever coached and I’m in my 48th or 49th year of coaching in total. That’s a pretty big statement, but how do you not love this kid? All he does is keep moving forward literally with a smile on his face. His attitude is unbelievable. If you’re going through 10 different foster homes, the chances of you moving forward in a very positive way is pretty tough. Most of those kids are going to fall through the cracks in some way. But this kid, him and his sister, stayed positive.”

Adversity did, however, follow Thomas to Winnipeg as the jump from the community level to U Sports is astronomical. Learning defensive co-ordinator’s Stan Pierre’s defence and juggling the student-athlete life was something Thomas struggled with in Year 1.

“He’s in my office holding back tears saying ‘I don’t think I can handle this academically and I don’t know how I’m going to learn coach Pierre’s defence.’ And I kind of laughed, not at him, but I was like ‘Nick, every year there’s guys that come into my office exactly this way. Trust me, just persevere, the clouds will part and you’ll see the sun. I’m telling you it will get better,’” said Dobie.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

U of M Bisons linebacker Nick Thomas spent much of his childhood in foster care. ‘I don’t feel sorry for myself a lot,’ he says.

“And he stayed and accelerated to the point where a couple years later, he’s now an academic all-Canadian, first-team all-Canadian on the field, and came in one day and talked to me about the possibility of doing a master’s degree. Here’s a kid who never thought he’d never pass a university class.”

The 5-11, 210-pounder broke out in 2021 when he led the Bisons with an average of six tackles per game. He was expected to register even bigger numbers in 2022, but a Lisfranc injury in Week 2 sidelined him for the rest of the season. He’s close to being fully recovered and will participate in all the drills at a Bisons pro day in a few weeks from now.

The injury has likely hurt his draft stock, but the 24-year-old psychology major with two years of university eligibility left is expected to hear his name in the later rounds.

“He’s one of the best linebackers we’ve ever had in our program, and we’ve had some real good ones. He’s flat out the best football player in our program and one of the best players in the country. So, those are good reasons to take a hard look at a player coming off a serious injury,” said Dobie.

Thomas talks with his father, who played the 1999 campaign with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before retiring and now lives in Las Vegas, all the time, but sadly his mother passed away in January. She’ll be near and dear to his heart during draft night on May 2.

“Ever since she passed, I’ve wanted to keep making her proud. I talk to her every day and tell her I’m going to make her proud and be the best version of myself that I can be,” said Thomas.

“I know she’d be smiling and be happy for me. She knows I’ve been working hard at this. She would make scrapbooks that had articles about me, and I know she’d probably put this one in that book, too.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31