Sept. 28, 2009

He is 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds and a starting defensive tackle, a job that demands an affinity to brawling and mauling and a bit of smash mouth. But he is also a transplanted Floridian (Miami), a laid-back-and-gentle soul and, according to linebacker Nate Williams, the funniest player on their unit. Glimpse the many sides of senior Marshall Thomas as he talks to NUsports.com Special Contributor Skip Myslenski. . .

On The Record...With Marshall Thomas

I just like to have fun out there. A little practical joke here and there in the locker room, at meetings and stuff, just trying to lighten the mood up.

You can't get too serious because then guys get down on themselves a little bit. So you've got to lighten the mood up.

Best practical joke? We had a good one yesterday in the d-line room. It was me, Vince (Browne), Adam Hahn, Corbin (Bryant) and Corey (Wootton) all in there. Just before Coach (Marty) Long came into the room I was like, "Hey, before Coach Long comes in, take off your shirts, take off your shirts." So we all take off our shirts.

Also In This Edition of The Den:

• Shop Talk with Nate Williams

• Oliver Kupe: Five Languages, One Passion

He walks in and he's like, "I'm not even going to ask." He just started the meeting.

I watch a lot of standup.

Favorites? Probably Dave Chappelle. Lavell Crawford's a really funny guy. I like Dane Cook every now and then.

I can be loud and outgoing. But usually I just like to sit at home, play a couple video games with the guys on the team.

Especially freshman and sophomore year, the coaches were, "You're too relaxed, you're too relaxed. You've got to get your sense of urgency up."

I was a little bit too lax. Now we've learned to deal with each other.

You've got to lock into the moment.

Freshman year everything was a blur pretty much, especially in the beginning of the year. Toward the end of the year, things started to calm down. I acclimated to it and every year, progressed more and more.

When we were practicing indoors my freshman year, I was running to the ball, I just tripped over myself. It got pointed out in the defensive meetings the next day. Everyone was like, "What are you doing?"

Off the field, I would definitely say the first winter, people always made fun of the way I dressed. I had no winter experience, so I was just putting on anything. Everybody just laughed at me. "What are you wearing?" I'm like, "I don't care. I'm warm."

It would be random colors thrown together.

I had these big snow boots that I still get made fun of for by Quentin Davie. He says, "I had those when I was six. Why do you still have them?" I'm like, "I'm warm."

I'd seen snow on vacation and stuff. But actually living in it, that was my first time living in it.

I remember winter workouts that year. I'd wake up, go to workouts, come back and I'm like, "Phew, I'm going to have a tough time going to class today."

I tried to catch the shuttle every time I could.

It was snowing on my visit. But I knew it was something I was going to have to deal with eventually, so.

When I came on my visit up here, (former defensive tackle) John Gill was my host and we hung out a lot with Corey and (former linebacker) Prince (Kwateng) and (former offensive lineman) Keegan Kennedy, all these guys. I was talking to Keegan because he was from Florida too and we had actually played against each other. Going back and forth, it was really comfortable.

I actually didn't play football when I was growing up. I was little, a bit on the heavy side, and I had an asthma problem too.

The doctor told me to swim.

I swam competitively for about four or five years, from about nine to 14.

My best events were the 500 free and 100 breaststroke.

I was a little chubby. I was embarrassed in the little Speedos a little bit.

I thought I looked good.

They tried me out (in the ninth grade) to see if I could do fullback blocking. That didn't work out, so they put me at o-line first.

I wasn't too big, 5-10, 190, something like that.

I didn't really watch what I ate back then. We had an all-you-can-eat lunch and I went to work there.

Sophomore year I just kind of grew.

In 10th grade, I started taking it a little more seriously. At first it was just fun being out there with friends and stuff. Then a couple players in my class, we were really close, we realized it at the same time, so we started working out a little bit harder, watching film, getting prepared.

The only pre-game routine I have is me and (offensive lineman) Mike Boyle, since we're 66 and 67, we always sit next to each other. We'll always split my iPod and we'll listen to "Throw It Up" by lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz and "World, Hold On" by Bob Sinclair and then we'll go to shuffle.

The personality of a defensive lineman? You've got to love contact, first of all, because you're going to be doing it every single play.

You get hit in the head a lot.

Coach Long always says, "You've got to go through flesh every single play. You've got to hit some flesh every single play." So you've got to love that. You can't be afraid to get hit. That's the main thing.

You bust someone, it feels great, man. It's a rush of adrenalin. All your teammates rush up. It's "Whooo." You get that nice feeling deep inside of you.

I usually just try and get up because I hate being in piles, people being on top of me. I'm "Aw, I need to get out of this before someone rolls on me."

Plenty of stuff. There's usually a lot of trash talking down there. I've heard of a couple people getting hit down below, getting hit in the stomach, poked in the eyes.

I know I've gotten stepped on.

Legs, a little bit on the back too.

I try to stay level-headed, keep it as even as possible. To be honest, it can end at any second, you know what I mean? So just go out there and have fun every time you go out there.

My motivation is being out there with my teammates and being able to be counted on. I know they're going to be playing their hardest for me, so I'm going to give my hardest for them. The three other dudes are going to play their hearts out, so I know I can't let them down.

I'd say it's more a desire for success rather than a fear of failure.

Now I'm able to look back and see how my hard work has finally accumulated.

You see a lot more things. You notice a lot more subtle things pre-snap.

The way the offensive lineman is leaning. If he's looking at you. The way the center's hand tenses up as he's about to snap the ball.

If you can see an offensive lineman about to pass set, you can get a jump on that. If it's run blocking and you can see which way he's leaning, you can get a jump on that too.

I weigh a lot more too, about 30 pounds more. Coming into camp this year, I weighed the most I ever weighed.

Working out. Coach Lij (strength and conditioning director Larry Lilja). Long hours in the summer. Eating a lot.

I wake up, get some breakfast in me. Yogurt and some granola, lots of fruit juices, waffles, pancakes, sausage. Lunch, it depends if I feel like going out or if I feel like making something. If I make something, maybe chicken breasts, some pasta, couple veggies, lots of fruit too. Dinner, that depends too on if I'm lazy or going out.

If I'm going out, I usually try to find a special where I can eat a lot for a little bit of money. Merle's is a good place. They have daily specials. Monday is all-you-can-eat ribs. Wednesday is 25-cent wings. I do that a lot.

I always try to have fruits and vegetables with a meal.

One book that I read that kind of influenced me a lot was "To Kill a Mockingbird." "Native Son" too.

From "To Kill A Mockingbird," Atticus Finch, I liked his character and integrity, being able to stand up for what's right. "Native Son," learning to do what's right and wrong, how to act in situations.

The movie I'd like to star in, just because I saw it recently, I liked it a lot, is "The Professional." Leon. He's a hit man.

I like his character. On the outside, he seems like a cold-killing assassin. But he's caring enough to take care of this little girl and protect her.

Sort of like a defensive lineman.

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