COMMENTARY: Drake Thomas, An NC State All-Time Great
The lineage at the linebacker position runs deep at NC State.
Bill Cowher, Robert Abraham, Vaughan Johnson, Frank Bush, Bobby Houston, David Merritt, Damien Covington, Levar Fisher, Pat Thomas, Manny Lawson, Stephen Tulloch, Nate Irving, Audie Cole, Terrell Manning, and Germaine Pratt are some of the outstanding linebackers in NC State history since 1980 -- and that is not a complete list of greats during a span that is now into its fifth decade.
Being a Wolfpack linebacker is a serious responsibility. The backer often directs the defense, but it also runs deeper. It is about being cognizant of the greats that have worn the red and white (and sometimes black and gray) of NC State.
It is about understanding that there is a high standard for that position group at NCSU, but not shying away from trying to lift it to another level and ultimately leaving it in a better place for the successor.
There is a great linebacking heritage at North Carolina State University. Perhaps it is fitting that one of its legends graduated from Heritage High School.
Best decision of my life. https://t.co/Q2BsRdvC99
— Drake Thomas (@DrakeT32) June 2, 2022
When Drake Thomas made the trek from Wake Forest, North Carolina, to NC State as a college freshman, there was no real way of knowing quite how his college career would turn out. He clearly had the drive and desire, but would he have enough of the 'measurables' and could he compensate for any of his perceived size shortcomings, no pun intended, to play at the ACC?
The answer was yes, resoundingly. The motor Drake Thomas possesses has manifested itself not in just the physical or psychological traits of his position, but also the mental aspects. Thomas never seems to be misaligned or drifting away from where he is supposed to be, and that usually is where the play is to be made.
Obviously, Thomas has earned accolades. He has helped the Wolfpack win games.
In the process, he has also won the hearts of NC State's fan base.
In what must be the neatest portion of his legacy, Thomas gets to share in the maintaining and lifting of the NC State linebacking lineage with his teammates, Isaiah Moore and Payton Wilson, who also have earned their spots in the Wolfpack linebacker antiquity.
He will also share the experience of being a part of the NCSU football family with members of his own family -- which will be a way of strengthening the link they have together as time goes by.
Thomas is in a Wolfpack brotherhood with his two brothers, an NC State family with his own family, and a great NCSU linebacking legacy with his linebacker teammates. That must be a fulfillment that words cannot properly express.
With his college career in its final week, words can express what he has made of himself at NC State.
Drake Thomas is an all-time great Wolfpacker.
Grateful for it all. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sg0eJqCU6u
— Drake Thomas (@DrakeT32) December 24, 2022
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A lifelong native of the Triangle area in North Carolina, Rob McLamb has covered NC State Athletics since 2010, as well as writing about each of the five major sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS) for various newspapers and outlets. As a journalist who has also served as a high school and college coach, McLamb provides an educated, unfiltered, and analytical perspective on the Wolfpack and the ACC.