32 days until Michigan football: The A-Train runs through Ann Arbor
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
With 32 days to go until Michigan football kicks off the 2023 season against the East Carolina Pirates, today we look at former star running back Anthony Thomas.
As a Michigan Wolverine, Thomas quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the field. Nicknamed “A-Train” for his powerful running style, he wasted no time in making his presence felt in college football. In his freshman season in 1997, he rushed for 549 yards with five touchdowns along with 22 catches for 219 yards, carving out a role as a key player on the team’s national title squad.
Over the next three seasons, Thomas continued to shine for the Maize and Blue. During his sophomore year, Thomas had 891 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 1998. He took on the lead back role in 1999 with 301 attempts for 1,289 with 17 touchdowns in addition to 33 catches for 168 yards. During his senior campaign in 2000, Thomas ran for 1,733 yards with 18 scores on 319 attempts. He closed out his Michigan career with 4,470 yards, 55 touchdowns and 88 receptions for 810 yards. His senior season rushing mark is the No. 2 single-season number in school history.
At the time of his graduation, Thomas became the program’s all-time leading rusher, but now ranks third behind Mike Hart and Denard Robinson. Other program accolades include All-Big Ten nods in 1999-2000 and Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1997.
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Thomas was a second round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2001 and was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. Thomas played with the Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills in his NFL career, which came to a close in 2007. He rushed for 3,8971 yards with 23 rushing scores with 113 receptions for 756 yards in his career.
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