Little Big Man

I have a story in today's Telegraph on the big impression Carlton Thomas has made in his 10 or so months in Athens. I lead the story with a couple of examples, but I bet I've had a dozen different players praise Thomas' game without any provocation on my part. He may not be big, but the kid manages to draw attention.

Anyway, because UGA practices so late this spring, I was pressed on deadline and couldn't weave any quotes from Thomas' new position coach, Bryan McClendon, into the story. Still, McClendon had some good things to say, so I figured I'd post them here.

McClendon on Thomas' best attributes...
"The thing that's going to make Carlton so good is his will to compete. He wants to compete and be the best at anything you tell him to do. Wherever you line him up at, whatever you ask him to do, he's going to do it, and he's going to try to do it better than everybody else out there. That's what makes him so special."

McClendon on Thomas' chance to impress this spring...
"He's had a fantastic offseason, and he had a great end of last season just improving and learning a little bit more. Him being able to dive into this competition full speed was all he needed for any incentive or motivation that may have been may have been needed. For him to know he's in a competition for this spot, he's really responded very well to it."

McClendon on whether he has been surprised by what Thomas can do...
"We got to see a lot of it last year, and we got to see a lot of it during mat drills, how he just wanted to compete on the mat. We're out there in mat drills and he's busting his tail. That part doesn't surprise me one bit. I knew he was going to go out there and try to be the best out there."