I feel sorry for young football fans, because they won’t ever get to see Derrick Thomas.

Growing up as I did during the best years of his illustrious career made you a fan of Thomas.

Thursday Thomas’ name was on a list of nominees for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There shouldn’t be any question. He should be inducted.

Despite the other names nominated this year, which include quarterbacks Dan Marino and Steve Young, wide receiver Michael Irvin, offensive lineman Nate Newton, defensive end Charles Haley and pass-rushing specialist Kevin Greene, Thomas stood out.

Even among some of the NFL’s greatest players, Thomas was special. He terrorized quarterbacks, forced opposing offenses to plan around stopping him and made the Kansas City Chiefs one of the league’s best defenses for a decade.

Thomas was the best of his era, the logical successor to Lawrence Taylor as a pass-rushing linebacker.

He was a player so good they created a position for him: the Falcon. It allowed Thomas to move around the defense and do what he did best &045; rush the quarterback. But Thomas wasn’t a one-dimensional player. He could tackle running backs, cover tight ends and running backs on passing routes and off the blocks of offensive linemen who often outweighed him by more than 100 pounds.

Thomas, listed at 6-3 and a generous 247 pounds in his career, was too small to play the position he was most suited for, defensive end. He loved to rush the passer and he did it about as well as anyone.

His favorite target was some guy named John Elway, whom Thomas sacked 17 times. For some linebackers, that might be a decent career in itself.

The final tally: 730 career tackles, 126.5 sacks and an astounding 444 quarterback pressures.

He also had 7.5 sacks in 10 postseason games, ranking among the best there.

Thomas did his job so well he made the Pro Bowl nine times in his 11-year career.

It’s all the more sad that Thomas’ career ended when he was still an extremely capable player &045; perhaps not the star he was early in his career, but still a key cog in a very good Chiefs’ defense. His death of complications from injuries suffered in an auto collision shocked the sports world. Thomas was just 33 years old, and many fans hadn’t realized the extent of his injuries when he went into the hospital.

But for those who knew Thomas, his freakish abilities on the field weren’t even the most important part of who he was. He tirelessly gave to his community and was a friend to almost everyone he met. He was a genuinely good person who happened to also be an extremely talented football player. He loved his family, loved football and loved his adopted home of Kansas City.

His teammates loved him, his family loved him, opponents respected him and the members of his community appreciated the charity work he did.

Derrick Thomas was an amazing player, but he was more than that. He is missed for all of the things he did, on and off the field.

The least that can be done is to put a great player and a great man into the Hall of Fame where he belongs.

Christian Schmidt is a sports writer with the The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at (601) 445-3633 or by e-mail at

christian.schmidt@natchezdemocrat.com

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