Anthony Jermaine Thomas (born November 7, 1977 in Winnfield, Louisiana) is an American football running back who plays for the Buffalo Bills (NFL).

At Winnfield Senior High School, he starred on the basketball, track, and football teams. He set a state record with 106 career touchdowns while playing both running back and placekicker. He was named a first-team All-American and rated as the second-best running back in the country by the Prep Football Report.

Before entering the professional ranks, Thomas played college football at University of Michigan. As a freshman in 1997, he contributed to the Wolverines' 12-0 national championship season. In his stellar collegiate career (1997-2000), he set school records for rushing yards (4,472) and touchdowns (56).

He was selected in the second round (38th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Nicknamed "A-Train" due to his power-running style, he powered his way to 1,183 rushing yards and the NFL Rookie of the Year Award. With the emergence of Thomas Jones in Chicago, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 as the backup running back to Julius Jones. Thomas' ineffectiveness in limited duty, his inability to play special teams, and the emergence of Marion Barber III as the primary backup led Dallas to release him in November 2005. He was quickly signed by New Orleans after they lost Deuce McAllister with a season ending knee injury, and split rushing duties with Aaron Stecker. On April 28, 2006, Thomas signed with the Buffalo Bills.

Trivia

Award-winning rookie campaign culminated in his selection as the 2001 rookie recipient of the Brian Piccolo Award, voted by his Bears teammates, after being named NFL Rookie-of-the-Year by Sports Illustrated and selected to Pro Football Weekly's All-Rookie team

In spite of coming into the league with a reputation as a fumbler after being given the ball late to run out the clock against Northwestern University and subsequently fumbling to lose the game, Thomas set NFL record for most touches by a rookie without a fumble with 300 split between 278 rush attempts and 22 receptions

External links

Anthony Thomas gets second chance with the Saints (wwltv.com)

Anthony Thomas Pro Profile