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Late Great Derrick Thomas

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deleted1998

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I just found out he was from Miami. Any of you old-school guys know why he didn't go to any of the big 3?
 

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In the mid 80s the Canes were just getting stablished and from faint memory I remember his mom wanting him to get away from Miami to avoid bad influences. Do know that most of what we knew at that time about recruiting was based on one pager recruiting info we got once a month, later on I remember having a 900 # line (Paid by the minute) from some guy in Texas that knew zero about South Florida and a few notes in the Miami Herald and the defund Miami News had a better high school section.
 
I graduated from Killian the same year he graduated from South Miami - 1985. He was likely an unknown commodity to scouts going into his Sr. year. He played TE at Palmetto his Soph year and at South Miami as a Jr. His Sr. year he lined up next to Keith Carter, who would have been a 5* if there was such a thing. He was recruited by everyone and wound up at FSU. Even though it was Derrick Thomas 1st year as an LB, anyone who saw him or played against him would tell you that Derrick Thomas was MUCH better. I think Alabama caught on early and the big 3 had to play catch up. People close to him may have encouraged him to go away. He had a lengthy juvenile crime record and football was a way to get away from the same traps and snares he grew up around here.
 
McKenzieMoore said:
I graduated from Killian the same year he graduated from South Miami - 1985. He was likely an unknown commodity to scouts going into his Sr. year. He played TE at Palmetto his Soph year and at South Miami as a Jr. His Sr. year he lined up next to Keith Carter, who would have been a 5* if there was such a thing. He was recruited by everyone and wound up at FSU. Even though it was Derrick Thomas 1st year as an LB, anyone who saw him or played against him would tell you that Derrick Thomas was MUCH better. I think Alabama caught on early and the big 3 had to play catch up. People close to him may have encouraged him to go away. He had a lengthy juvenile crime record and football was a way to get away from the same traps and snares he grew up around here.
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i graduated from kiliian in 93.. that year, i remember walking down the hall in school one day when i walked by a bid dude.. did a double check, and was like, good god, that's Derrick ****** Thomas! he was in town and visiting a coach for Killian that i guess coached him at South Miami.
 
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canefrank said:
In the mid 80s the Canes were just getting stablished and from faint memory I remember his mom wanting him to get away from Miami to avoid bad influences. Do know that most of what we knew at that time about recruiting was based on one pager recruiting info we got once a month, later on I remember having a 900 # line (Paid by the minute) from some guy in Texas that knew zero about South Florida and a few notes in the Miami Herald and the defund Miami News had a better high school section.
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Max Emfinger or something like that is the name you are looking for.
 
rccollins said:
i graduated from kiliian in 93.. that year, i remember walking down the hall in school one day when i walked by a bid dude.. did a double check, and was like, good god, that's Derrick ****** Thomas! he was in town and visiting a coach for Killian that i guess coached him at South Miami.
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Was South Miami decent back then? My Dade County high school football history is lacking but haven't they always been pretty awful?
 
rccollins said:
i graduated from kiliian in 93.. that year, i remember walking down the hall in school one day when i walked by a bid dude.. did a double check, and was like, good god, that's Derrick ****** Thomas! he was in town and visiting a coach for Killian that i guess coached him at South Miami.
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Miller was at South Miami
 
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Drewny1 said:
Bags allegedly
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Bags? Ah No. He was completely under the radar. Keith Carter was the prize recruit on that team. Thomas had zero rep until after his senior year. My Sis was in his class at South Miami so I watched a few of their games. To me, it was blatantly obvious that Thomas was better than Keith Carter but Carter looked like a a grown *** man as a 9th grader so he had a major rep. There was no big recruiting battle for Derrick Thomas. BTW, South Miami was as good as anyone in Dade County in the late 70s and early/mid 80s. Believe that.
 
Knew some guys that played with him in South Miami. That was a very rough neighborhood then. Like bad. Alot of them left town for that reason. My buddy left to FSU.
 
South Miami lost to Columbus in the playoffs in 1980 on a totally fluke play. Columbus went to the final that year. South Miami was a FAR superior team to Columbus. Not even close. Killian smoked them too.
 
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