Starling Thomas V (born January 25, 2000) is an American professional football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UAB.
| No. 24 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | January 25, 2000 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 194 lb (88 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Ramsay (AL) | ||||||
| College: | UAB (2018–2022) | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||
| |||||||
Early years
editThomas was born on January 25, 2000, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] He attended Ramsay High School and was a top two-way player, being ranked a three-star prospect.[1][2] He placed as the 145th-best cornerback recruit nationally and the 53rd-best player in the state, and chose to commit to UAB over Middle Tennessee, Memphis and Southern Miss, among others.[2][3][4]
College career
editThomas saw immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2018, appearing in 12 games while recording three pass breakups and 10 tackles.[5][6] He also saw action as a return specialist.[1] The following year, he started all 14 games and posted 27 tackles, one fumble recovered and his first career interception, made against North Texas.[1][5] Although projected to be starter again in 2020, Thomas suffered a torn ACL that kept him out the entire season.[5] He started all 13 games when he returned in 2021, posting 41 tackles, nine pass breakups and two interceptions, earning honorable mention all-conference honors.[1][5] As a senior in 2022, Thomas was named first-team all-conference after allowing receptions on only 37.9% of passes thrown at him with 13 passes defended.[7] He played in the East–West Shrine Bowl after the season ended.[7]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+1⁄8 in (1.78 m) |
190 lb (86 kg) |
30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.38 s | 1.59 s | 2.54 s | 4.36 s | 7.29 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
14 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[8] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
editAlthough various sources projected Thomas as a late-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, he ended up going unselected. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent.[7][9] He was waived on August 29, 2023.[10]
Arizona Cardinals
editA day after being waived by the Lions, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Cardinals.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "NFL Draft Profile: Starling Thomas V, Cornerback, Alabama-Birmingham Blazers". Sports Illustrated. December 2, 2022.
- ^ a b Estwick, Gary (July 1, 2017). "Starling Thomas, Ramsay's 2-way star, picks college home". AL.com.
- ^ "Starling Thomas V". UAB Blazers.
- ^ Dudley, Evan (October 18, 2019). "Playing for 2: Starling Thomas V playing for mother and Children's Harbor patient". AL.com.
- ^ a b c d Hicks, Matt (March 31, 2023). "30 Days of Colts' Fits: Starling Thomas V, CB, UAB". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Starling Thomas V College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c Pool, Colton (April 27, 2023). "NFL Draft: Starling Thomas V of UAB Could Be On Track To Becoming Pro Starter". HERO Sports.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Starling Thomas V College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ Birkett, Dave (April 29, 2023). "Detroit Lions undrafted free agent tracker: QB Adrian Martinez joining Lions". Yahoo! Sports.
- ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ Payton, Mike (August 30, 2023). "Cardinals claim standout from Lions camp". A to Z Sports. Retrieved August 30, 2023.