Tag: Andrew Thomas Georgia

Former Georgia Bulldog, New York Giants OT Andrew Thomas looks healthy following ankle surgery

Looks like Andrew Thomas is moving well following ankle surgery…

Former Georgia star offensive tackle Andrew Thomas underwent ankle surgery this year following the New York Giants’ 2021 season.

The surgery was the second attempt to help repair an issue that nagged Thomas for his first two seasons.

The No. 4 overall pick in 2020, Thomas was named to Pro Football Focus’ list of the Top 101 Players of 2021 after a big year-two in New York.

Here’s a look at Thomas in a workout with 2022 Georgia NFL draftee Justin Shaffer.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfKz1AlgTMh/

Rest easy Giants fans, it looks like Thomas’ ankle is holding up nicely.

 

NY Giants fans, get to know your new OT Andrew Thomas

New York Giants fans, get to know your new offensive tackle Andrew Thomas out of Georgia football.

With the fourth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New York Giants took Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas.

Thomas has been considered the top rated offensive tackle in this draft class since the start of last season, and on Thursday the Giants made it official, making him the first tackle off the board.

Giants fans, you may have wanted a pick with a little more pop to it, but as far as offensive linemen go, he’s as good as it gets.

Thomas came to Georgia as a 4-star recruit out of Pace Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. Thomas was ranked as the nation’s No. 45 overall player and as the ninth ranked offensive tackle in the class of 2017.

He enrolled at Georgia on May 30, 2017 and never looked back.

He was a day one starter for the red and black, originally creating holes for tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel en route to a College Football Playoff berth and eventually a shot at the national title.

He’s done it on the biggest stage week in and week out, going up against the country’s most elite pass rushers in the SEC.

He rarely lost a battle, and there’s proof of it in this footage of Georgia vs LSU in the 2019 SEC Championship Game where Thomas shut down defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson, a projected top-15 pick, all day long.

While on the NFL Network today, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said that Thomas is a guy who will be a 12-14 year starter in the pros and that no tackle in this class has done it at a higher level than Thomas has over the last three years.

Thomas’ skills extend way beyond the football field, though. For as long as he can remember, Thomas has had a strong interest in music. He’s a talented pianist and drummer, and in high school he actually played with the marching band. That made his Pace Academy pep rallies difficult sometimes, as he would take part with both the band and the team.

Giants fans, trust me, you got a good one.

Watch: Andrew Thomas’ Georgia vs LSU footage shows why he’s top OT in NFL Draft

Watch Andrew Thomas’ 2019 game footage against LSU to see why he is the number 1 rated offensive tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas is projected as a first round pick by a number of analysts leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, starting Thursday, April 23rd.

The buzz right now is that Thomas goes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an effort to give Tom Brady some solid pass protection at the tail-end of his career.

There has been some debate, though, as to who the best tackle in this year’s draft is.

Is it Thomas? Maybe Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs? What about Louisville’s Mekhi Beckton?

We will put an end to that debate with this here footage of all of Thomas’ meaningful pass-blocking snaps against LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson in last year’s SEC Championship.

Georgia got blown out, sure, but watch how difficult Thomas made life for Chaisson, who is a projected top-15 overall pick in this week’s draft.

Watch:

It is pass-blocking like this, on the biggest against the best players, that has elevated Thomas to the #1 offensive tackle in the draft.

Look out for Thomas to do great things in the NFL and be a staple offensive lineman for a long time.

Another mock draft likes the idea of OT Andrew Thomas going to the Bucs

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com is joining the throng of experts who believe Georgia OT Andrew Thomas will be the Bucs’ pick in round one.

The NFL draft will be fully virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be conducting the draft from their home base… literally.

As we get closer and closer to the big day, final mock drafts are beginning to come together. Earlier, Sports Illustrated’s latest mock had offensive tackle Andrew Thomas of Georgia going to the Bucs with the 14th pick. Now, Daniel Jeremiah over at NFL.com, in his latest mock draft today, also pegged Thomas as Tampa Bay’s pick in round one. “The Bucs are all in on Tom Brady. Adding some protection for him is a good idea,” Jeremiah said of the Thomas selection.

As SI pointed out, even though Thomas could very well be the fourth OT off the board come draft day, he might just be the most pro-ready tackle available in this year’s class. Tampa Bay needs to make sure they protect Tom Brady at all cost, so finding a reliable tackle in round one should take precedence.

As a fun side note, Brady’s old team, the New England Patriots, used one of their first round picks in the 2018 draft to take Georgia OT Isaiah Wynn to help protect the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Maybe history will repeat itself for Brady in this year’s draft.

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Another 2020 NFL mock draft has Bucs addressing need on the O-line

Josh Edwards of CBS Sports released his latest 2020 NFL mock draft, and thinks the Bucs could take one of the draft’s best O-linemen.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, like the rest of the NFL, are doing their due diligence at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where draft prospects are hoping to impress executives and coaches from around the league.

With the 14th pick in April’s draft, the Bucs know they can find solid value at that spot. The only question is, will they use the selection to address their needs on offense or defense? That decision might become clearer once free agency hits and the dust settles. The Bucs have several unrestricted free agents ready to hit the open market, and while Bruce Arians thinks it’s “very realistic” to keep the defense together, financial constraints will ultimately dictate which players the Bucs retain.

If the defensive front seven remains intact, or somewhat intact, Tampa Bay could easily use their first-round pick to address their need along the right side of the offensive line. Josh Edwards of CBS Sports, in his latest mock draft, has one of the best O-linemen in the draft going to the Bucs at 14, Andrew Thomas of Georgia.

Per Edwards:

“Tampa Bay will be thanking its lucky stars that one of the draft’s best linemen is still on the board. They would have been pigeon-holed into addressing their front seven otherwise. Thomas has been a bit of a victim of over-evaluation lately.”

Finding a solid offensive lineman can make a huge difference for a team. Think of Zack Martin of the Dallas Cowboys or Quenton Nelson of the Indianapolis Colts. The Bucs would love to have someone like that along their offensive line.

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What have we learned from Georgia football alumni at the NFL Combine?

In which we compile all of this week’s posts pertaining to former Bulldogs at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine

For those who can’t focus the ideal amount of attention to Georgia football news, I’ll compile some of this week’s posts pertaining to former Bulldogs at the NFL Scouting Combine:

Brian Herrien provides a recollection of Nick Chubb’s encouragement.

Both of Georgia’s invited tailbacks were faster than Florida’s only invited tailback.

D’Andre Swift proved speedier than his two most famous former teammates.

J.R. Reed can do it all.

Charlie Woerner is a man among boys.

In other news:

The basketball Bulldogs stuck out a nervous victory over Arkansas sealed by an Anthony Edwards dunk.

The baseball Bulldogs embarrassed Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Fewer than twenty hours prior, Scott Stricklin’s Bulldogs edged out the Yellow Jackets by a score of six to five.

NFL releases list of early entrants for the 2020 draft

The NFL Draft is just a few months away and the league released a list of all the early entrants, including from Georgia football.

On Tuesday, the NFL released the official number of early entrants for the 2020 draft.

Of the 115 early entrants, 99 athletes were granted special eligibility (three years removed from high school) and 16 will have graduated but have collegiate eligibility remaining.

Last year, a record 135 collegians left early for the NFL draft. Of those, nearly one-third did not hear their name called on draft day. The siren song of the NFL sometimes isn’t so sweet.

The SEC, proving once again it is the most talented and competitive conference in the nation, saw 35 players forgo their senior year. The Big Ten lost 21 early entrants, the ACC and Pac-12 each lost 13 and the Big 12 lost 8 players to the draft. Other conference and NCAA division early losses include:

  • Mountain West, 6
  • AAC, 5
  • Conference USA, 4
  • Independents, 3
  • Sun Belt, 1
  • MAC, 0
  • FCS, DII, DIII, 5

National champion LSU lost the most early entrants with 9. SEC rivals Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M were next, losing 6, 5 and 4, respectively.

Georgia  offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (junior) is widely expected to be one of the early entrants drafted in the top 10. Other Georgia early entrants include tackle Isaiah Wilson (RS soph, 2nd-3rd round), guard Solomon Kindley (RS junior, late 1st-2nd round), quarterback Jake Fromm (junior, 1st-2nd round) and running back D’Andre Swift (junior, 1st-2nd round).

The 2020 NFL Draft will be the 85th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held from April 23–25, 2020, in Paradise, Nevada and will be televised live on ESPN.

Two Georgia football players named semifinalists for prestigious awards

A pair of Georgia football players were named semifinalists for prestigious CFB awards.

Two Georgia Bulldogs have been named semifinalists for a pair of college football’s most prestigious postseason awards.

Andrew Thomas, a junior left tackle, was named one of six semifinalists for the Outland Trophy, which goes to America’s top interior lineman.

Joining Thomas on the list is:

OC Tyler Bidasz (Wisconsin), DT Derrick Brown (Auburn), OT Penei Sewell (Oregon), OG John Simpson (Clemson) and OT Tristan Wirfs (Iowa).

I could definitely see Thomas bringing home the trophy, but Auburn’s Brown poses a tough fight. Currently, Thomas is a top-five pick in almost every NFL mock draft I’ve seen.

On Monday, the list of six will be trimmed to three and the winner will be announced at ESPN’s College Football Awards on December 12th from the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Georgia junior safety J.R. Reed was named a semifinalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which is given to America’s best defensive player.

Reed is joined by Brown (Auburn), LB Isaiah Simmons (Clemson), DB Antoine Winfield Jr. (Minnesota) and DE Chase Young (Ohio State).

Right now, this trophy is looking like it’s Young’s to lose, despite the fact hew was suspended for a portion of the season. But Reed has been a consistent force in the secondary all season and will go on to a long NFL career.