There was a time when Michael Thomas wasn't this way. There was a time when the Ohio State wide receiver struggled to speak with confidence during an interview session with the high volume of media members that come along with being a Buckeye.
Saturday, it seemed like those days were from a former life.
Fresh off a stellar redshirt sophomore season where he led the Buckeyes in receptions with 54 and was second to Devin Smith in both yards (799) and touchdowns (nine), Thomas flashed a huge smile when one of those members of the media mentioned the words "1,000 yards."
"Yeah, I think about it all the time," Thomas said following Ohio State's fourth annual Student Appreciation Day. "It's definitely what I want, but I wouldn't say a 1,000 — a 1,000-plus."
Wide receivers are supposed to think this way. They're supposed to have that swagger about them, that bite that makes them say, "I'm better than you, and I want the ball every play because I'm better than you."
It's not to say Thomas didn't hold that personal confidence when he first got to Ohio State — he shared his feelings on Twitter in the days following his team's 40-35 Orange Bowl loss to Clemson in January 2014.
"I feel like the whole time I was getting ready for this type of moment, this situation."– Michael Thomas
Thomas, then stuck back home during a redshirt season because he lacked maturity, vowed to be better and make a name for himself in the fall. He more than did that in 2014.
Touchdown receptions of 53, 63, and 79 yards highlight his breakout year, but its how he was the late season security blanket for J.T. Barrett and then Cardale Jones that is what his coaches remember most.
"I’m going to tell you right now Mike Thomas is a superior player. He is superior," Ohio State cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs said Tuesday. "He has had great spring practices before the injury and I mean a strong, tough, ball catcher."
"The injury" is a sports hernia, on which he's already had surgery and head coach Urban Meyer's called "not that serious." Thomas is a solid 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, looking the part when you discuss Ohio State's next great wide receiver.
He'll have to be with senior stalwarts Smith and Evan Spencer gone.
"I feel like the whole time I was getting ready for this type of moment, this situation," Thomas said. "Over the years, watching, sitting down, I just had to stay patient and keep working."
His dedication to the game resulted in the big plays one year ago, along with a bevy of others that made even the casual viewer see the now redshirt junior is the real deal.
Broad and sturdy shoulders along with vise grips for hands allowed him to rise and catch jump balls against Maryland, Alabama and others, but Thomas claims there were games he let those types of passes fall to the turf.
"I mean, it happened. I don't remember exactly when, but I feel like I still have a lot to prove and a lot still left in the tank, a lot of growth that I can make," Thomas said. "So I'm learning new things every day. Even from watching these guys I'm learning stuff."
As he continues to learn while being shelved by the injury, Meyer's already pegged him as one of the team's top-10 playmakers returning for 2015.
He's as much of a true, big-bodied wide receiver the Buckeyes have on its roster for 2015 and what he did during the team's national title run lead many to believe he could be one of the most explosive players in the country this fall.
Thomas smiles at the notion, in addition to the thought of posting a 1,000-yard season — a far cry from when he used to barely open his eyes during interview sessions.
"That's a blessing to be in that category, that conversation but I just know I gotta keep working hard," Thomas said. "Everything that happened last year, it's going to be a new year, guys gotta develop, guys are going to get better and watch film on me so I have to stay one step ahead of it. I can't let anything get by."
