Thomas Today I spoke with Rylie Kyhn of Hoosier Huddle about Ian Thomas and his time at the University of Indiana. We’ve already talked here about both his football skills and moving personal story. Now we get to hear from somebody who covered his college career and who can back up all of our analysis and more. This is a long one Carolina Panthers Womens T-Shirt , folks, but I promise the end is worth every word it takes to get there.Cat Scratch Reader: There has been a lot of talk about Thomas having potential, but still being a raw prospect. What do you see as his greatest challenge in developing as an NFL tight end?Hoosier Huddle: He wasn’t really recognized as a strong tight end or an NFL prospect until his senior year and, by then, he only had a season to prove himself to scouts and to the NFL teams that he had the potential to be a weapon on the field. I think the biggest challenge for him is going to be learning a new offense and the huge play-book that comes with the job and adjusting the the speed of the game. I have no doubt that, with the challenges he faces, he will work as hard as he can to overcome them. CSR: Is there any aspect of his game that you would consider as already polished and pro-ready?HH: There is one thing you can’t teach, and that’s athleticism and size and he is a tremendous athlete. His size and speed give him an advantage. He has proven that he had good hands and can catch the ball which is one of his strengths that is well polished. CSR: What was Thomas’ most memorable on field moment as an Indiana Hoosier?HH: My most memorable moment of him on the field as a Hoosier is the first touchdown he scored at the home opener against Ohio State. We had been talking about the game for weeks and how big it was going to be and I remember how excited he was and how excited we all were for it. On Indiana’s first drive the final play they went to Ian towards the end-zone. The officials ruled the pass out of bounds but after they reviewed it they called it a touchdown and the entire stadium went crazy. I was nearly in tears I was so excited. The stadium was packed and everyone was screaming and I kept thinking ‘what is going through Ian’s head right now?’ I think Ian’s most memorable moment is either that or after he scored his second touchdown of that game. The score was 20-14 Ohio State and we needed a touchdown badly and then it happened. Lagow went to Ian in the end-zone again and suddenly we were tied and the entire stadium went insane. It was the first game of the season, the coaches had been talking about his abilities for weeks and how he was a player to watch out for and he had just proved that with two touchdowns in arguably the biggest game of the season. He is so humble he wouldn’t really talk about it but I know those moments were pure joy for him and probably the most memorable. CSR: What was your reaction to Thomas being drafted by the Carolina Panthers?HH: I remember exactly where I was when he was drafted. I was at work watching the draft on my laptop. I obviously had no idea he would be the first pick of the day so I wasn’t really paying attention and then I heard his name and I lost it. I almost screamed and then cried so many happy tears and I was so overwhelmed with joy and I was so proud. I was so happy for him because he deserved it so much and we all had so much faith in him. So, for his name to finally get called, it was just so overwhelming. CSR: Thomas has the opportunity in Carolina to sit behind one of the best tight ends in professional football, Greg Olsen. Did he show anything during his time at Indiana that would indicate how he might take advantage of his new circumstances?HH: Ian is the type of person who takes advantage of every opportunity he is given and will work as hard as he can no matter what. All the work he put in first at JUCO, and then at Indiana, to get to where he is now is an indication of just how much he is going to take advantage of being able to learn under Greg Olsen. He will take full advantage of the opportunity and I know he will be grateful for all that this learning opportunity will provide. CSR: As a 4th round pick with limited playing experience, we’ve probably talked as much about Thomas’ backstory as we have his football skills. Do you have any additional perspective on how his life has shaped his football career?HH: Ian isn’t someone who talks about himself or wants to tell you all about what he does and what he has gone through. He doesn’t typically share his background with people and he doesn’t look for pity or for anyone to feel bad for him. He is humble and caring and he puts his head down and works hard no matter what and I think a lot of the experiences in his life have shaped him into that type of person. He makes it seem like he has no bad days and even on his worst Carolina Panthers Hats , he is the type of person who will still try to make you smile and make sure you’re having a good day. He is one of the most unselfish, caring, and loving people I know and he is hands down the funniest. I couldn’t be more proud of who he has become despite everything he has gone through in his life.What he has gone through has built and shaped him into the strong, hard-working, and humble person he is today and all of that then translates to the football field. He works hard on the field because that’s what he has done his whole life and that’s what he knows. He won’t go out of his way to tell you how hard he works or all that he has overcome and it’s important to know because he does what he does for himself and his family and that is what drives him to push even harder. CSR: Are there any other off field stories about Thomas that deserve more attention? HH: My freshman year of college, just a few months after I had met Ian, before we were really close, me and some other guys were in his dorm room and he had about six huge packages sitting on the ground. We were all talking and then I asked what they were and he said they were packages he had received from different families or people with a bunch of food and clothes in them. I thought it was so cool that people were sending him stuff but he kept saying he didn’t really need it. He didn’t have a car at the time so he asked me if I could give him a ride to the homeless shelter so he could drop all the packages off there because he didn’t need the things in the packages. He took everything he had received from people and we drove to the church/homeless shelter in Bloomington and he gave it all to them. He’s not someone who brags or tells other people about what he does so he would never tell anyone he did that but I was so impressed and humbled by what he did.5 questions with Big Blue View This week I spoke with Ed Valentine of Big Blue View about the Carolina Panthers upcoming game against the New York Giants. Read on for his opinion on the demise of Eli Manning and the potential of Saquon Barkley. This game may not be as easy as some of us had hoped. You can find my answers to his questions here.Cat Scratch Reader: Barkley looks like he has had a successful start to his season. Is he living up to his draft position?Big Blue View: Saquon Barkley is a terrific player. He has hit the 100 yards from scrimmage mark in all 4 games and Sunday can become only the third player in NFL history to reach that mark in his first five games (Kareem Hunt, 7 and Adrian Peterson, 5). So, yeah, no complaints. The Giants as a whole, though, haven’t been able to consistently strike the balance between running and passing, between giving the ball to Barkley and getting it to Beckham. That’s a work in progress.CSR: Be honest Carolina Panthers Womens Hoodie , how far past his prime is Eli Manning?SB Nation’s FanPulse is a survey of NFL fans across the league.BBV: I really don’t know. There are Giants fans who have been over Eli for years. Shoot, some were over him before he won a second Super Bowl. He’s completing a lot of passes, but the offense isn’t going anywhere. We’ve spent a lot of time and effort of the Eli topic at Big Blue View. There’s blame on him, Pat Shurmur and the offensive line for the offensive struggles thus far. I think we will find out the answer to that question over the course of the season. The Giants have banked their hopes on him being able to get the job done for another year or two. We’ll see if they were right.CSR: Olivier Vernon is back. How big is that for the Giants?BBV: Well, I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that Vernon will be back. It looks like that will be the case, but we thought that last week, too. Vernon is their best pass rusher, so getting him on the field would be a major plus. As Shurmur said “when you have a fresh body that has the talent, the skill, and abilities of a pass rusher, it helps your defense.”CSR: The Giants record in close games this year is eerily reminiscent of Panthers teams from years past. Is this because of a consistent and identifiable issue or are they just a comedy of errors like the Browns?BBV: The Giants have just struggled to play good offense. Period. They are averaging 18.25 points and have not reached the 20-point mark in all three of their losses. It’s really that simple.CSR: What is your score prediction for this week and how does it happen?BBV: I hate to do it but I’m going to hold my prediction for Sunday at Big Blue View. If the Giants are going to win they are going to have to play better offense, generate more big plays. On defense, they are going to have to find a way to deal with the running of Cam Newton.