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At various points in Michael Thomas' football career, it would've been easy for him to give up.

He didn't play the sport seriously until he enrolled at Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, Calif., just outside Los Angeles, as a junior after being home-schooled as a sophomore. As a 6-foot-3, 160-pound wide receiver that didn't know how to run routes, Thomas only entered games if his team needed a Hail Mary.

As a senior, he wanted more.

"He had the greatest offseason ever," said Matt Kerstetter, Thomas' head coach at Taft.



Thomas gained weight, learned the playbook and used hand-exercise tools to strengthen his gigantic 101/2-inch mitts. He caught 21 touchdown passes as a senior, and the college offers started to come — Washington, Miami, Cincinnati, Louisville, Oregon State and Syracuse, among others. But according to Kerstetter, Thomas wanted to go to Southern Cal or UCLA.

Thomas and his family decided he needed another year to develop, so he moved across the country to go to Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia with hopes of improving his game. Although he appreciated the discipline at the prep school, Thomas said he was counting down the days until he could leave, which he did when Ohio State offered him a scholarship.

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