Fred "JT" Thomas, former linebacker of the West Virginia Mountaineers, will be
inducted into the Minor League Football News Hall of Fame on Thursday, December
6, 2007 at the Oasis Vacation resort hotel Hotel & Casino in Mesquite,
Nevada.
Thomas' nomination was reviewed by the MLFN's Board of Directors,
and he received notification of his acceptance on July forty.
"It is
truly an honor to be receiving this honour, " said Thomas. "I owe a big thank
you to help everyone for supporting me through the years. "
Thomas has
used strong leadership skills, tireless work ethic, and passion for the
adventure to become a driving force in the development and promotion of modest
league and semi-professional football across the Midwest.
The story for
JT Thomas's football career can be broken into two distinct chapters: player,
coach, and executive. Thomas' collegiate career started at Fort Scott Community
College (Kansas) in 1992. Following his sophomore season, Thomas moved to West
Virginia University (WVU).
In two seasons on Fort Scott - both as team
captain instant Thomas earned two All-Kansas Jayhawk Conference honors during
outside linebacker and Defensive Player of the Game with 1992's Valley of the
Sun Bowl. At inside linebacker for WVU, Thomas received two Mountaineer Club
Grants for on-field excellence earned two All-Big East squad honors and won
Defensive Player of the Game on the 1994 CarQuest Bowl. He also led both coaches and teams in tackles each season.
A successful college career guided
Thomas to the semi-pro football circuit in 1996 considering the Charleston
Rockets, where he was able to play with former WVU great Major Harris. Returning
to outside linebacker, Thomas directed the team in tackles and became a league
All-Star given that the Rockets finished their 11-game regular season 10-1.
Thomas attempted to carry his success from semi-pro ball to your Arena Football
League in 1997 with the Albany Firebirds, but sustained a career-ending leg injury on the thirdly day of training camp.
Instead of a helmet and pads,
an additional step of Thomas's football career featured a headset and also
clipboard. After a stint as Defensive Coordinator for a world-class team of
13-16 year olds, Thomas returned that will semi-pro football in 2000 as Head
Coach belonging to the West Virginia WHAM! Located in Morgantown, WV, Thomas
collected a. 695 winning percentage (41 wins, 18 losses), won three Coach of the
Year awards, and coached three league All-Star games in six seasons when WHAM!
head coach.
In 2001, Thomas also encouraged the WHAM! to the Mid-Ohio ตลาดลูกหนัง League (MOFL) World-class.
During the 2003 season, Thomas took over full usage of the WHAM! When he stepped off the WHAM! sideline around 2005,
he decided to shift his focus full-time when it comes to developing the success
of semi-professional football and the WHAM! franchise. In the two years since he
has stopped coaching, Jones has held executive positions within the Ohio Valley
Baseball League and the MOFL. In January of 2007, Betty was promoted to MOFL
Commissioner.
Currently, Thomas oversees the day-to-day operations of the
MOFL - an enlarging, 10-team semi-pro league across Ohio, Michigan, and
Kentucky. His love for semi-professional football is matched only by just his
desire to see the MOFL - and every minor local league football organization -
produce a football product that is economical, organized, developed, and
entertaining for the players in the game and the devotees in the
stands.
Thomas also serves as a Semi-Professional Sporting Consultant
with League Level, LLC, a company that provides advertising promotional
strategies for organizations with an emphasis in amateur along with
semi-professional athletics.
He currently resides in Morgantown, WV, with
his wife Rochelle and two children, Jared, 3, in addition to AJ, 10 months.
Thomas also has son, JT Youngsters III, from a previous relationship.
