Heartbreak: Utah Utes greatest player of all time has finally announce his leaving due comeback of…
In a tweet on Friday afternoon, the running back stated that his season was ended due to a toe injury he sustained at Oregon (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune). Utah Utes running back Tavion Thomas (9) will play USC in NCAA football on Saturday, October 15, 2022, in Salt Lake City.
Running back Tavion Thomas (9) of the Utah Utes takes on USC in NCAA football on Saturday, October 15, 2022 in Salt Lake City (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune).
The fifth-year junior running back revealed on Twitter on Friday afternoon that he will end his college career early and instead focus on the East-West Shrine, citing a toe injury sustained in the Utes’ 20-17 loss at the University of Oregon.
NFL draft in April and the Bowl on February 2.
On Wednesday, the East-West Shrine Bowl, a senior all-star game, revealed that Thomas had accepted an invitation. Thomas, a fifth-year junior who is eligible for the draft, was already informed earlier this month by Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham that he would not be coming back in 2023.
Thomas will not participate in either the Pac-12 championship game, should the Utes advance, or the regular-season finale against Colorado on Saturday at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.
In the tweet, Thomas stated, “Unfortunately, I injured my toe in our previous game.” I am rehabilitating and preparing for this next phase of my football career by declaring for the NFL Draft as a result.
freestar “I really anticipate returning and winning the Shrine Game.
Thomas, who transferred from Kansas’ Independence Community College to the University of Cincinnati, was a revelation in the autumn of last year following early problems with ball security. In 2021, he finished with 1,108 running yards and 21 rushing touchdowns, setting a school record for the most in a single season. Utah won the Pac-12 and made it to the Rose Bowl for the first time.
Thomas declared he would return to Utah in 2022 for what would likely be his final season, only days after the Rose Bowl. Despite Thomas’s great potential, this season was chaotic in both his personal and football lives.
Days before the Utes’ Sept. 17 game against San Diego State, his aunt passed away.
Thomas took that particularly hard because, as he subsequently remarked, his aunt reared 13 children in total in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, including him and his two siblings.
With Whittingham’s help, Thomas was able to return to Dayton for a few days to spend time with his family as the next week progressed and Utah got ready to play Arizona State in Tempe on September 24.
It’s unclear exactly what happened between the Arizona State game, his aunt’s passing, and the short travel to Dayton.
Despite not participating in the first half of the 34-13 victory over the Sun Devils, he managed to end with a team-high 11 carries for 60 yards. The fact that Thomas was suspended for the first half was not made clear by Whittingham.
Whittingham stated that evening, “Yeah, he was available physically, but we were planning to play him in the second half this game.” Things do happen sometimes, and you have to take specific actions. Although there was an internal issue, Tavion is well.
Whittingham was vague about the circumstances and used the terms “consistency” and “accountability” several times. On October 1st, against Oregon State, Thomas was limited to just six attempts for 13 yards. That day, the top four running backs for Whittingham combined for just 55 yards on 22 carries.
Following an intense 43–42 victory over USC, who had never lost before, at Rice-Eccles Stadium on October 15, ESPN 700 revealed that Thomas had removed his pads and
quit the game before it was over. Later, video footage surfaced showing Thomas rushing off the field by himself as the celebrations started on the field while wearing his jersey but without shoulder pads.
That evening, Whittingham was questioned twice about Thomas’s condition: first during his news conference following the game and secondly during the ESPN 700 postgame program. Whittingham claimed ignorance both times.
On November 12, Thomas ran 22 plays for 180 yards and two touchdowns against Stanford, but he did not go to Washington State on October 27. It seemed as though everything had finally, completely turned around. In his eventual last game, Thomas managed just 55 yards on 19 carries against Oregon.
“The journey back to Dayton was merely another image, similar to Two days following the Stanford game, Thomas observed, “You don’t want to go back to this.” “Take care of your business; people are depending on you. Get it right.” I came to see that it truly is bigger than me. All I needed to do was accept minor setbacks and recognize what lay ahead of me. That enabled me to correct.
There are days when you don’t want to be there, but when you are, you find that you miss everything terribly. How much you miss the game, the meetings, and being around these men. That really got to me not being there.
