I don't think he is -- but I hope that the Texans invite him in as an unsigned free agent if no one drafts Walter Thomas this weekend.

On the edge of the Texas Gulf is a 370-pound football player who can execute a perfect forward flip.

When he lands, the ground trembles.

The playerÂ’s name is Walter Thomas, and as he kicked his size 16 feet overhead Saturday morning, onlookers studied the sculpted giant with curiosity and awe. It was the kind of reaction Thomas usually elicits from professional football scouts.

“I feel like I’m a big secret,” Thomas said. “The secret of the draft.”

The National Football League draft, which begins Saturday, does not really have secrets anymore. Prospects are timed and tested, interviewed and investigated, over and over again. Entire dossiers are prepared for second-string players.

Thomas is as close as modern football can come to an old-fashioned sleeper. In the past two years, his only playing experience was at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, Miss. He played in two games, both losses. Then he was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the Tate County (Miss.) Circuit ClerkÂ’s office, and never played college football again.

Judging by his credentials, perhaps Thomas should not be drafted. Judging by his dimensions, however, Thomas has to be drafted.

Big Walt, as he is known, is a 6-foot-5 defensive tackle who wears a size XXXXXXL jersey. He bench presses 475 pounds and squats 800 pounds. Weight lifters at the Galveston Health and Racquet Club stop their workouts to watch him.

Football teams everywhere are filled with big men, but many of them can barely move. Thomas has run the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds, faster than some N.F.L. tight ends. He is the rare tackle who can catch a running back from behind.

Not only that, h is so nimble that he can do back-flips. He's a freakin' 6'5", 370 pound gymnast! And Lord knows we need some help on the defense (and the offense, and special teams) down here in Houston. But Thomas' record might not merit the use of a draft choice -- at least not before the sixth or seventh round. After all, he has made a mess out of his college career, and so enters teh draft as damaged goods with a big question mark attached.

But Walter Thomas is a local boy, from just 45 miles the next county over from Houston. People here remember his high school career. H has the potential to be a performer on the field -- and a sentimental favorite among the fans. I'd love to see him play here.

Posted by: Greg at 10:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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