Looking back over the history of Texas High School football, not many athletes have accomplished and been honored as many times as running back Thurman Thomas. Dating back from 1983 to the present, the Houston native has been inducted into every Hall of Fame to which he is eligible.
Most recently, Thomas came back to his hometown to receive the Touchdowner of the Year from the Houston Touchdown Club.
“This is big to receive and award like this and to be back in the state I grew up in. It’s always good to be back in Houston, Texas,” Thomas said. “It’s a great honor to come back and see family and friends. This is where it started for me back in 1983 with the Touchdown Club.”
Thomas is referring to the moment when he was given the Offensive Player of the Year from the same organization in the early 1980s. And that is where it all began. Early on, many coaches who saw Thomas, even as a middle school athlete, knew that he was gifted. He was a four-year letterman, starting his career with a new program in 1980.
At Willowridge High School.
During his tenure, he gained 3,129 yards in his final two seasons, played a key role in a 22-17 victory in the 4A state championship game, and was a unanimous all-state running back. As Thomas looks back over his early years of success, he felt as like there were many people who supported him.
Now, it’s time to give back.
“It was a new school back then and I wanted to be part of something special. And it was,” Thomas said of his time at Willowridge. “That was a great four years at Willowridge. I got the chance to meet a lot of people and I still keep in touch with them today. That’s what the ‘Ridge is all about, you know, staying in touch and helping people.”
And that is where he is at the moment, being the lending hand to many. In the past couple of months, something new has occurred and Thomas was approached to ask for his support.
In recent years, the Willowridge program has been a little down since the 1990s and Thomas days as far as posting consistent winning records. So, this past off-season, a new coach was hired in hopes of getting the Eagle program back to its dominance. Coach Keeath Magee, in earlier reports, said that he familiar about the rich history of the program and knew that it would take some extra effort to restore the confidence needed to achieve success.
Magee wanted to reach out to former players and coaches to assist in this movement. Thomas said he is willing to answer the call.
“He (Magee) told me that he is reaching out to some of the former players who played at Willowridge when it first opened. Coach (Magee) asked me if I would be willing to come back and be a part of the program,” Thomas said. “Sure I do. We all want to see it get back to where it used to be. When you have that kind of coach trying and reach out to former alumni, that’s the sign if a good coach who wants to win.
“He wants to program to get back on top and I can tell from the great conversation we had that he is motivated. That’s a good thing and I think he’ll do a great job at Willowridge.”
The 30-year reunion is coming up for Willowridge and seems like not long ago when Thomas was walking those hallways. Of course back when he was attending, it was known as just that school out on FM 2234. But after the emergence of Thomas, many took notice, including college coaches.
With that said, after a successful high school career, Thomas took his talents to Oklahoma State. For the Cowboys, he was a two-time All-American after rushing for 4,595 yards and 43 touchdowns. But during college, a serious knee injury affected his draft status and he slipped to the second round of the 1988 NFL draft, taken by the Buffalo Bills.
It didn’t take long for Thomas to get back to form because by 1991, not only did he gain over 2,000 yards from scrimmage, but was named the league MVP and made the Pro Bowl. To date, he is the only player to lead the league in yards from scrimmage for four consecutive years. He also had multiple Super Bowl appearances.
His lifelong football career has landed him a place in the Texas High School Hall of Fame (1992), the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2007) and the College Football Hall of Fame (2008).
Now the retired Thomas spends time with family, manages his companies, and offers assistance to those who need it.
“I told people whatever I can do to help out, I’m willing to do,” Thomas said. “Lots of special people played an important role in where I am today and I just enjoy helping people.”