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Can't guard Mike: Saints rookie Michael Thomas is making a name for himself

BY ROD WALKER | RWALKER@THEADVOCATE.COM JUL 31, 2016 - 7:00 PM

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Just four days into his first NFL training camp, Michael Thomas already is living up to the hype ... or at least his Twitter handle.

The rookie out of Ohio State already has made a name for himself, showing he just might be worthy of the name he made for himself on social media.

His 57,000-plus Twitter followers know him as @Cantguardmike.

That sends a twofold message: a whole lot of confidence and, based on the first four days at The Greenbrier, a whole lot of truth.

“Some people might say it’s cocky, but it’s not cocky,” Thomas said about the moniker. “It’s just how I approach the game. When I line up one-on-one, in my mind as a receiver, I feel like no one can cover me. I just do my job and do what I was taught off the repetitions. I feel like I can’t be covered.”

And even when he is covered, he has found ways to come up with a reception. He has easily been the best player in camp so far.

His one-handed grab on the second day of camp may have seemed spectacular, but Thomas saw it as doing what he's supposed to do.

The second-round draft pick was made available to the media Sunday for the first time during training camp — his first chance to tell just how he made that catch Friday.

“When the ball is in the air, covered or not, I trust my ball skills over whoever is covering me,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in my ball skills. If I can get my hands on it, I want to make a play. The quarterback (Luke McCown) threw it out there, and he trusted me to make a play. He threw it out there for a reason.”

Thomas' 6-foot-3, 212-pound body oozes confidence. But, as he showed Sunday, there’s humility mixed in there as well.

When he's at his best, he's punishing defensive backs. When he's at his worst, he's punishing himself.

He had a false start penalty on one play, so he decided to run as punishment. He said it was his choice.

“I let the team down,” he said. “To create better muscle memory, I did something to correct it.”

Thomas said watching the team's veteran receivers has helped. It also helps, he said, having former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson as his uncle.

“I talk to him all the time,” Thomas said. “He motivates me.”

But, mostly, Thomas motivates himself.

He said when folks say his name — Michael Thomas, not @Cantguardmike — he wants them to think of a guy who’s “competitive, (has) tremendous ball skills, goes hard — someone you want on your team.”

So far, he has been that. Defensive back Roman Harper likes what he has seen.

“Working hard is not an issue for him,” he said. “When you have young guys and rookies that can do that and come in with that attitude, they’re going to be successful. That is what I like about him the most — the way he competes every day, day in and day out. Whether it’s a walk-through or team-on-team, he’s competing and going hard.”

Source: http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orlea...3d8991973.html