Thomas hits all right notes for Texas

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/05/2010 -

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -If Earl Thomas says he's jazzed up to play, he not might be talking about football.

Texas' All-American safety is also a pretty mean musician. These days he plays piano in a jazz band that jams in clubs around Austin.

Back in high school, Thomas played saxophone in the band and sometimes marched at halftime of games in which he played.

``It was kind of embarrassing,'' he said Monday.

Starting as a redshirt freshmen last year provided some moments that Thomas would like to forget, too. Like any first-year starter, he learned on the job.

This season, Thomas has hit all the right notes, helping No. 2 Texas go undefeated and earn a spot in Thursday's BCS national championship game against No. 1 Alabama.

The 197-pound sophomore set a school record and ranked second in the nation with eight interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He was also second on the team with 71 tackles.

The development of Thomas, along with fellow sophomore safety Blake Gideon, was a huge reason why Texas' pass defense improved from 104th in the nation in 2008 to 25th this season.

``Earl and Blake have progressed tremendously,'' defensive end Sam Acho said. ``They were both really good players last year, but now they're great players. They're hard workers. It's a testament to their hard work and their dedication to the game.''

With Thomas leading the way, the Longhorns are tops in the nation in interceptions with 24.

``Last year we had a lot of opportunities, we just couldn't catch it,'' he said. ``This year we worked real hard in the summer, just finishing plays, running full speed through ball drills. It's just paying off for us. They're coming in bunches.''

Like football, music has always come easily. Thomas got his first drum set when he was about 5.

When he was about 12, his uncle, who played piano at his grandfather's church in the small town of Orange, Texas, went off to college. Thomas' grandfather, also named Earl Thomas, decided if his grandson could play drums, he could probably play piano.

``My grandpa just kind of threw me up there,'' Thomas said. ``My grandpa told me to 'go up there, son, and make some music, go bang on something.'''

In Thomas' senior year at West Orange Stark High School, Hurricane Rita destroyed his family's home and church.

``When you see something like that, it was devastating,'' Thomas said. ``We stayed in a hotel room my whole senior year.''

But it didn't interfere with his budding athletic career. He played running back, receiver and defensive back in high school. He also ran track and played baseball and basketball.

And, yes, he even marched in the band.

He'd take off his shoulder pads at halftime, grab his alto sax and play while still wearing his football pants. Now that's versatility.

Football got Thomas a scholarship to Texas and he brought his love for music with him to Austin. He still plays piano in church and a friend got him hooked up with a jazz band called Bad Bones.

``I'm the youngest guy by far in the band,'' he said. ``It's an old-school band,'' by which he means the rest of his bandmates are in their 30s.

He plays for his teammates when he gets a chance, too.

``It's amazing,'' defensive lineman Sam Acho said.

But Thomas never mentioned his time in the marching band to the other Longhorns.

``I didn't know that,'' Acho said, ``but now that I know I'm going to give him a hard time.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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