July 19 – Utility players in football aren’t the most common thing to see. De’Anthony Thomas was a swiss-army knife during his three seasons with the Oregon Ducks. As a freshman in 2011, Thomas played running-back, wide receiver, and returned kicks for the Ducks. He scored 18 touchdowns, a school record for freshmen.

His sophomore season was much of the same. Another 18 touchdowns on the board for Thomas in 2012. He was used a lot more on the ground in 2012, carrying the ball an additional 37 times. It appeared that the splash factor lowered slightly, however, as his average yard per touch decreased on offense. He was still a lethal returner though, chipping in another 2 touchdowns in that department.

His final collegiate season was in 2013. There was another drop-off in production for Thomas, only scoring 10 touchdowns compared to the 18 each of his previous seasons. He was still an effective player though and declared for the 2014 NFL draft at the end of the season.

Thomas spent 6 years in the NFL playing primarily as a running-back and a returner for the Kansas City Chiefs. Thomas never become more than a gadget player at the NFL level, but a solid 6 year career as a returner in the NFL is nothing to sneeze at.