ONE NSU MAGAZINE ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// he explained. “After playing college hoops for a few years, I felt I had to give football a shot. I was terrible at it for the first six months. Eventually, the time and effort I spent trying to improve helped me reach my goal of becoming an NFL player.” After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Resource Management at Portland State University—and playing both basketball and football during his senior year at Portland State—Thomas set his sights on the NFL. “SUPER” EXCITEMENT In 2011, Thomas’s dream of playing in the NFL became a “ I NEEDED TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO STEP AWAY FROM FOOTBALL TO DISCOVER THE PARTS OF ME I WAS UNABLE TO BE FOR THE MANY YEARS I SPENT AS AN ATHLETE.” reality when he was chosen by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Although his first two seasons as a tight end with the Broncos were uneventful, life changed drastically in the 2013 season. Thomas and his team lit up the stat sheets and reached the Super Bowl, before losing 43–8 to the Seattle Seahawks. “My most enjoyable moments in football were from 2013, when the Broncos became the most prolific offense in NFL history,” he said. “It felt like spending a year in flow state. The hard work, the challenge of the NFL season, and the joy of true teamwork came together to allow our team to play with a 28
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