SHAMARKO THOMAS
Strong Safety
Syracuse University Orange
5-9 – 217
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Ocean Lakes High School
4th Round – 111th Overall

CAREER NOTES
Thomas started 39-of-48 games at strong safety for Syracuse, posting 263 tackles (177 solos) with four sacks for minus 35 yards and 16.5 stops for losses of 55 yards…Gained 27 yards on two interception returns and deflected four other tosses…Caused four fumbles and recovered three others.

2012 SEASON
Thomas was named All-American third-team by The NFL Draft Report and the team co-captain was a consensus All-Big East Conference first-team selection, in addition to earning Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I All-Star recognition…Started all 13 games, as he led the team with a career-high 88 tackles (62 solos), adding a 6-yard sack and 3.5 stops for losses of 9 yards…Ranked third in the league with three forced fumbles and had one fumble recovery…Gained 27 yards on the first two interceptions for his career…In the Northwestern clash, he tallied two tackles, including a sack for a loss of six yards, and forced a fumble…Recorded seven tackles, including six solo and one tackle for a loss of one yard, and recorded his first career interception vs. Southern California… Notched six tackles, including two solo vs. Stony Brook…At Minnesota, he registered a season-high nine tackles, including six solo tackles and then tied his season-high nine tackles which included seven solo tackles and one for a loss of one yard vs. Pittsburgh… At Rutgers, he tallied six tackles, including two solo and then earned a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for his effort vs. Connecticut, which included four solo tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception, which he returned 27 yards…At South Florida, he notched a team-high nine tackles, including six solo, and recovered a fumble that set up a touchdown…At Cincinnati, he again earned spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for his career-high 14 tackles, including 10 solo, and forced a fumble…Had six solo tackles vs. Louisville and at Missouri, the safety recorded six tackles, including four solo, followed by a Temple contest where he posted six tackles, including five solo…At the New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs. West Virginia, he notched four tackles, including two solo and 0.5 for a loss of one yard.

2011 SEASON
Thomas was named All-Big East second-team by The NFL Draft Report, as he ranked third on the squad with 67 tackles (47 solos) in 10 starting assignments, adding three stops for losses of five yards, three pressures and a pass deflection…In the Wake Forest tilt, he had 10 tackles, including five solo…Collected six tackles, including five solo and one for a loss of one yard vs. Rhode Island… At USC, he made seven tackles with four solo stops…At Tulane, he recorded four tackles and had one pass break up…Added five tackles, including four vs. West Virginia and totaled eight tackles, including six solo vs. Syracuse…At Connecticut, he made seven tackles, including four solo, posting posted six tackles, including four solo in the South Florida contest and made six tackles, including five solo and one for a two-yard loss vs. Cincinnati…At Pittsburgh, he was in on eight tackles, including seven solo.

2010 SEASON
Thomas started nine of the 13 games he appeared in at strong safety…Ranked fourth on the team with 67 tackles (38 solos) that included two sacks for minus 19 yards and 3.5 stops for losses of 21 yards…Deflected three passes and advanced a fumble recovery three yards.

2009 SEASON
A member of ESPN.com’s All-Big East Conference freshman team, Thomas played in 12 games, starting seven contests – vs. Louisville, Rytgers and Connecticut as a strong safety; vs. Maine at right cornerback; and vs. West Virginia, Akron and Cincinnati at left outside linebacker…Registered 41 tackles (30 solos), a 10-yard dasck and 6.5 stops for losses of 20 yards…Also caused and recovered a fumble.

HIGH SCHOOL
Thomas attended Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, Va.) High School, playing football for head coach Chris Scott…Was a teammate of current Syracuse defensive end Brandon Sharpe… Was a two-sport standout, excelling in track and football…Led the team with 77 tackles and five interceptions as a junior…As a senior, Thomas was named All-State, All-Region and All-Tidewater first-team, as the two-time All-District selection would go on to set school records in career tackles, interceptions and defensive touchdowns…In his final campaign, he recorded a team-high 102 tackles, six interceptions, 11 pass deflections and one blocked field goal as a team captain, leading the squad to a 12-1 record on the way to garnering squad defensive MVP honors…Concluded his gridiron prep career by playing for the United States team that won the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship…In track, Thomas earned All-State honors competing in the 100-meter dash and as the anchor of the 4 x 100 relay that placed seventh in Virginia.

PERSONAL
Child and Family Studies major, enrolled in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics…Born Shamarko Lanell Thomas in February, 1991…Resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia.