It wasn’t a matter of not being able to handle playing linebacker – Travis Thomas can get comfortable anywhere as long as you’re letting him hit someone.
He’d just rather do it with the ball in his hands.
And so it came to pass that when the 2006 season ended, Thomas sat down with Charlie Weis to discuss what his role would be if he were to return for a fifth year.
“I told him how I felt, where I felt most comfortable,” Thomas said. “We came to an agreement, and our feelings were along similar paths.”
That path led right back to the other side of the ball – after one season taking one for the team at linebacker, the offensive MVP of last year’s Blue-Gold Game will be back there for this year’s.
Meet Travis Thomas, running back. Again.
The rumors had flown around for months, especially given the post-bowl happenings within the Notre Dame football program. Darius Walker had left early for the NFL, leaving a dearth of experience in the backfield, and with the hiring of Corwin Brown, wholesale changes were being made on the defensive side of the ball.
By all accounts, a change was going to come for Thomas anyway.
“That really doesn’t have anything to do with it,” said offensive coordinator Mike Haywood of Walker’s departure. “It was a decision between Travis and Coach Weis.”
Thomas said that he discussed the move with Weis before he even knew Walker was leaving. That part, he says, was a surprise to everyone.
“We’re real good friends, and I never had an idea,” Thomas said of Walker’s decision. “He definitely wasn’t open about it. He was very private.”
Surprise or not, Thomas immediately became the top dog in a talented – but very green – stable of running backs. The two-year captain hasn’t wasted any time this spring setting the tone, either.
The scene that the coaches described during early spring conditioning told the story. If the other backs were sweating, Thomas wasn’t yet. If he was sweating, his peers were usually looking for a bucket to throw up in.
“I wish I could tell you,” said sophomore James Aldridge when asked to verify the bucket part of the story. “I was looking down trying to catch my breath myself.”
This coming from a guy whose high school workout regimen – which included running up the Lake Michigan sand dunes with weights on his back – was the stuff of local legend.
“One of the things that (Travis) does...he forces those guys to get in better shape, because they have to compete with him,” Haywood said.
Thomas does plenty of other things – but being confused with the patient, finesse-oriented style of Walker isn’t one of them.
“Physical and downhill” is how Haywood described Thomas’ game. “It puts a smile on your face.”
“I’m sort of a slasher, a hit-it-and-get-it kind of guy,” the player concurred. “I like to give out punishment.”
That being said, there are parts of his predecessor’s game that Thomas would like to incorporate into his own, especially when it comes to the air attack. Walker was not only the school’s all-time receiving leader among running backs, but he was renowned for his ability to pick up blitzes and aid in pass blocking.
“For a back, the most difficult thing to do is pass protection, going through your protections before you get out to your route,” Thomas noted.
It’s something he’ll be working on through the spring and beyond – and don’t expect to hear him complaining about it.
He’s just happy to be back where he belongs – with the ball in his hands.
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And so it came to pass that when the 2006 season ended, Thomas sat down with 
This coming from a guy whose high school workout regimen – which included running up the Lake Michigan sand dunes with weights on his back – was the stuff of local legend.
