January 19, 2007

Joe Thomas and David Fox
Rivals.com College Football Basketball Analyst

Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas just finished a senior season in which he earned the Outland Trophy and first-team All-America honors from Rivals.com.

Frank Coyle of draftinsiders.com rates Thomas as the No. 3 prospect in the upcoming NFL Draft. Thomas has agreed to share his draft preparation/experiences with Rivals.com.

Near the end of his junior season, Thomas pondered leaving Wisconsin early for the NFL Draft. In the Capital One Bowl in 2006, Thomas tore the ACL in his right knee while filling in on the defensive line in the victory over Auburn. He made a full recovery from the injury and returned to help the Badgers to a 12-1 season.

In this entry, he details how he has spent the weeks since his college career ended with a 17-14 victory over Arkansas in the 2007 Capital One Bowl.

"I considered (leaving after 2005 season), but in the end I figured it was better to come back and prove my knee was healthy. I had not decided yet before the knee injury, but I think I needed to stay.

"I had the time of my life this season. I loved taking on the role of a senior captain. The camaraderie and friendships in the locker room were great. It was a great experience."

What have you done since the bowl game?

"I went down to the BCS title game a week ago Monday. I had a good time down there. From there we went to Omaha for the Outland Trophy presentation banquet. I spent the week before that in New Haven, N.J., for the Walter Camp awards. I had a chance to meet some coaches I hadn't met before. It was nice to meet some guys I had seen before at the All-American presentation.

"I started training on Monday to get ready for the NFL Combine and the pro day. Right now, I am training in Madison with John Dettmann (Wisconsin's strength and conditioning coach)."

"I started Monday with my heavy training. It's much of the same thing (you do before the season). You're trying to learn the drills you're going to do at the Combine and pro day like agility drills and so on.

"As of now (all of the combine drills) are pretty new to me. I'm trying to get my feet wet so that by the time my Combine comes, I'm ready."

What about signing with an agent? Where is that process right now?

"Right now, I'm interviewing different agents. I'm still going through that process. It's a difficult process. I've had the fortune of having my dad involved. He's a smart and savvy businessman. My dad is the one who has been interviewing guys. We've been narrowing the list down. We're trying to find out who we trust."

What are you looking for in selection an agent?

"I wish I had a good answer. Unfortunately it's not a simple process to ask a question and figure out who is right. You have to sit down and find out if this is the right person for you or not."

Are you playing in any postseason all-star games like the Senior Bowl and so on?

"I'm not playing in any all-star games. There were a number of reasons. All the people that I talked with and all the people I asked, they said playing in the Senior Bowl isn't going to help me. It's more important to work on training and preparing. I've competed against Big Ten linemen and draft picks in the past. There's enough film out there."