Walton's Thomas Shines at Stanford

Andrew Luck is understandably getting most of the attention for Stanford University's football success this season. 

But the Cardinal's stellar defense revolves around a former East Cobb high school standout who's starting to earn his own headlines. 

Chase Thomas, a junior linebacker for fourth-ranked Stanford, is drawing raves from college coaches in the Pacific 12 Conference and around the country. He's also getting more attention from National Football League draft experts in what could be his final college season.

On Saturday he'll be in a bigger spotlight than usual when the unbeaten Cardinal, ranked No. 6 in the current BCS standings, play at USC on prime-time national television. 

While Luck is regarded as the Heisman Trophy favorite and the likely No. 1 pick in next year's NFL draft, Thomas is being touted as the Pacific 12 defensive player of the year. He leads the league in sacks from his outside linebacking post, and one leading NFL draft expert has him rated as high as an early second-round pick. 

Thomas' aggressive style at linebacker is well known in East Cobb, as the San Jose Mercury-News reported in a lengthy profile of Thomas this week. 

Stanford's 3-4 defense fits Thomas' athleticism perfectly. In addition to football, he wrestled and honed his ranging skills on the lacrosse fields of East Cobb. 

The Georgia High School Association had Walton lacrosse games monitored to make sure Thomas didn't get out of hand. But he ended up limiting himself to football at the end of his high school career.

"Chase was just too violent," Walton head football coach Rocky Hidalgo told the newspaper. 

"He's as mean as a snake. He's going to hit you as hard as he can."

Thomas is scheduled to graduate early next year and does have a year of eligibility left, but hasn't decided if he will play as a senior.