Hall of Fame
Fred Thomas, a Bruce native, was a receiver and cornerback for two seasons at Northwest, where he caught 21 passes for a 26.8-yard average per game and returned an average of four kicks for touchdowns per season.
He earned All-American honorable mention as a wide receiver in 1993.
After Northwest, he played for one season with Ole Miss and transferred to the University of Tennessee-Martin. He was then selected as the 47th overall pick in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
Thomas played in a total of 47 games with the Seahawks over a four-year period, before joining the New Orleans Saints in 2000. He had back-to-back seasons in which he totaled 80 tackles or more with the Saints and earned the only touchdown of his career on a 64-yard blocked field goal return in 2003.Â
Thomas spent a total of eight seasons with the Saints before retiring in 2008. He finished his NFL career with 379 total tackles, 13 interceptions, nine forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
