Gameday Feature: Zach Thomas Returns Home, Forever

As he steps onto the field, beneath the hot glow of the Jones AT&T Stadium lights Saturday night, Zach Thomas will once again return home. This place, it's not so much about the sport of football for the revered linebacker.

Yes, this stadium served as the stage from which Thomas would catapult his athletic career to national prominence. It would build his character, skill set, and prospect for a career beyond college. But the deep passion for Texas Tech, West Texas and the Red Raider program flows much further than the simple game of football. And that is what the sport, and his legendary career for all these years, has taught the Pampa, Texas, native. And the approach has served him well.

So as the name Zach Thomas officially becomes the fifth etched into the Texas Tech Ring of Honor Saturday night, that is what he hopes radiates from its letters. Family. Team. And a sheer, unwavering love for the sport.

"That's what the game is about," Thomas, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015, said. "It builds friendships, it builds character and so many different things in that respect. That is what I played for."

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As the preeminent shrine to Red Raider football, the Texas Tech Ring of Honor is reserved for the program's elite players. Following Saturday's ceremony, Thomas joins Donny Anderson, Gabe Rivera, E.J. Holub and Dave Parks in the select company.

The names represent the very pinnacle of Texas Tech football – and will remain a permanent fixture in Red Raider athletic history, high above the field where their careers played out.

"It's humbling," he added. "I never realized that one day I would have my name engraved in the stadium."

During his celebrated Red Raider career, Thomas twice earned Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors, was a finalist for the Butkus Award and a unanimous All-America First Team selection in 1995. Meanwhile, he helped guide Tech to three bowl games.

"Zach Thomas remains one of, if not the best, linebackers in Texas Tech history," Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. "As I've said before, induction into the Ring of Honor is reserved for the best of the best and Zach's accomplishments are certainly worthy of induction."

Thomas went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL – 11 of which were with the Miami Dolphins - where he was elected to the Pro Bowl seven times, a stat that ranks third all-time in Dolphin's history. His impact in Miami was so great, the team also elected Thomas into its Honor Roll in 2012.

Thomas still ranks fifth all-time in Texas Tech history with 390 tackles during his Red Raider career – 131 of which came during his senior campaign. That senior year also provided the backdrop for one of the most memorable plays in all of Red Raider football history.

It was inside a deafening Jones Stadium as the Red Raiders faced bitter in-state rival, No. 8 Texas A&M, in a pivotal Southwest Conference showdown. With less than a minute remaining in regulation and the game in a 7-7 deadlock, Thomas changed history. He stepped in front of Aggie quarterback Corey Pullig's pass attempt, intercepted the throw and darted down the sideline for the winning touchdown.

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Jones Stadium erupted in pandemonium as the Red Raiders took the 14-7 lead, in a scene still resonates more than 20 years later in Red Raider history.

The moment still brings pride to his entire Tech career.

"It will never be forgotten," he says.

As a lightly-recruited linebacker from nearby Pampa, Texas, the Red Raiders and Oklahoma State were the two primary scholarship offers upon graduating. While Oklahoma State expressed heavy interest, including a visit from then assistant coach Mike Gundy, Tech symbolized a far deeper opportunity

After visiting with head coach Spike Dykes, Thomas quickly chose Tech – the same school his father, brother and sister also attended and graduated from.

"It was the best decision I ever made," Thomas said.

At Tech, Thomas truly felt his football career reach another level. It was in Lubbock that he began to see a future beyond the collegiate level. And for Thomas, the catalyst proved to be the relationships with his teammates and coaches that allowed for that path to transpire into reality.

Specifically, he still recalls the special relationship he had with Dykes and the teammates he still names – Shawn Banks, Marcus Coleman, Robert Johnson, Anthony Armour and more.

"I had so many sit-downs in his office," Thomas said of Dykes. "He kept me on track when I could have gotten off track so easy."

And that's what family, and home, means to Thomas. It was a special bond that laid the foundation for his Tech career and beyond. Now, as he returns home, the moment will be both eternal and remarkably emotional for the lifelong Red Raider.

For Thomas, his name will now always be where it belongs.

Home.

"It's going to be a proud moment," he said. "It's really for my family and everyone that paved the way. My family has always been there for me and always given me an opportunity. When I dreamed big, they were always there for me…When I look back now, I'm proud. When I take my kids, I can show them my name up there."

Texas Tech University Athletics

Gameday Feature: Zach Thomas Returns Home, Forever

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