Carroll Angeles

"He's got speed and he's athletic, a rangy guy. We want to see how he develops, but he certainly has skill."
Thomas spent the past 15 months recovering from the injury. Not only did he work tirelessly with the
medical staff during the 2010 season, he was in the locker room, around teammates.
There's no overstating the value of a young player just being around.
"I think it's very important just in terms of the overall culture," Caldwell said.
"It's not always what you do, but how you do them. I know he watched and listened."
Added Powers: "He saw the drift. Now he's going through it for the first time as a rookie. He's still a
rookie."
Spending so much time around the team opened Thomas' eyes to what it takes to play at the highest level.
He watched as Powers, Lacey, ex-Colt Kelvin Hayden and others prepared.
Last year, Thomas said, "humbled me as far as how I should prepare and live my life according to the NFL.
You (don't) have a clue once you first get here.
"I saw how they operated and I pretty much saw how our star players' bodies were built. I could see what
muscles they focused on -- the glutes, the quads, the calves, the back muscles, the neck muscles, pretty
much all the lower body."
Thomas is confident he has done the necessary preparation.
"I feel like my game's coming together," he said. "I have things to work on, but I feel good."