Early Years
Thomas was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He attended Brookfield Central High School, and played right tackle, defensive end, tight end, fullback, placekicker and punter for the Brookfield Central Lancers high school football team. He was listed among the top 20 offensive tackles nationally, PrepStar All-American, second-team All-America offensive guard according to USA Today, member of the Detroit Free Press All-Midwest team, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first-team all-state defensive lineman and second-team all-state offensive guard as a junior, and also received first-team all-state honors at defensive end from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and Associated Press. He was recognized as the WFCA 2002 Defensive Player of the Year. He had 85 tackles and 12 sacks as a senior. As a junior, he had 70 tackles and eight sacks. He was listed as the third best prospect in the state of Wisconsin in 2003. In track and field, Thomas set the school record for shotput and discus with throws of 64 ft 10 in (19.76 m) and 185 ft 7 in (56.57 m).
Aside from his athletic prowess, Thomas performed well academically. He was a four-year honor roll student and a part of the U.S. Army Academic All-America team and played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Notre Dame vied for his recruitment before he signed his letter of intent to Wisconsin in January 2003.
Read more about this topic: Joe Thomas (American Football)
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