Brandon Thomas heading to EWU football: 'I have a specific goal and specific team to work for'

The 4A Greater Spokane League defensive MVP from Central Valley is relieved that has a new home as a walk-on - prosthetic leg and all

There isn't a college football field Brandon Thomas has seen more action on that Roos Field - and no university campus he's been on more for youth camps than Eastern Washington University.

In that regard, the Central Valley High School standout's pledge this week to walk on to the Eagles' football team as a linebacker was a dream come true.

"It didn't stick with me how much I wanted to go to Eastern until my senior year," Thomas said.

By now, his remarkable full-circle journey has been told in great detail: Just weeks after being selected as the lone underclassman on the all-4A Greater Spokane League's first-team in 2019, suddenly he was feeling pain in his right leg.

Spokane-area oncologists discovered the teenager had a rare form of bone cancer - osteosarcoma - severe enough that his lower leg needed to be amputated.

After treatment and recovery, Thomas returned to the Bears' squad 15 months later, only this time with a prosthesis.

He played two more full seasons - and was certainly back to his old self last fall when he totaled 119 tackles, including 17 tackles for loss, and an interception return for a touchdown in nine games. He was voted the league's defensive player of the year.

But all the while, college interest remained lukewarm. A few NCAA Division III programs extended offers to join their teams.

The turning point came in mid-January when Central Washington University, an NCAA Division II school in the Lone Star Conference, offered him a partial scholarship.

"Then even more D2 schools started contacting me," Thomas said.

That was when EWU - the school where his father, Devon, was a former assistant athletic director - began having daily conversations with him about walking on.

"They made it clear their roster was full already," Thomas said. "But they also said if any players left, they would offer me a PWO (preferred walk-on offer)."

Throughout his personal ordeal, Thomas has kept a cheerful, optimistic outlook on life - and remained steadfast that he can be an impact performer for any college football team.

But he also knows his unique traits - playing with a prosthetic leg - will continue to be a talking point.

"If I did not have a prosthetic, I guarantee I'd have a PWO from Eastern, or maybe would have gotten a full-ride scholarship from Central," Thomas said. "It's not that I am not good enough. It's just this is something that no one has done - and that unknown is why coaches hesitate.

"It sucks. But it makes sense."

Ryan Butner, his coach at Central Valley, considers Thomas a "low-risk, high-reward option" for any college program that takes him in.

"He fits in. He's high energy. He's an incredible teammate. And he will work his butt off," Butner said. "If he makes it on the field, it is a bonus. But he will add so much to the culture of a team."

As of now, that program is EWU.

"As you probably know, it's stressful ... finding the right fit," Thomas said. "And I am glad that I did. And now I have a specific goal and specific team to work for."