Since arriving on campus last year, wide receiver Kyle Thomas has added 28 pounds thanks to a more focused diet and plenty of work in the weight room. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Barry Bottino
CARBONDALE – Throughout his football career, one physical trait has always stuck out about Southern Illinois wide receiver Kyle Thomas.
“Since I was younger, I was always a skinny kid,” he said. “My Pops always said that I needed to gain some weight when I got to college.”
When he arrived at SIU last year after two seasons at FBS Northern Illinois, the 6-foot-3 Thomas weighed 172 pounds.
He has turned heads this off-season by adding 28 pounds.
“I would eat six eggs in the morning, have five meals and end (every day) with a high-protein meal,” Thomas told Prairie State Pigskin after Friday’s spring scrimmage at Saluki Stadium. “I would wake up at 5 a.m., even on days I didn’t have to, to get all my carb and protein intakes.”
After the Salukis went through various position drills and several 11-on-11 sessions Friday to end spring practices, teammates and coaches alike praised Thomas for his impressive off-season.
“He looks like a different person,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “He proved to the whole team that he can be an elite receiver for us this year.”
The changes weren’t only physical, though.
“I feel like I locked in as a player and a person,” said Thomas, a graduate of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago’s south suburbs. “I stopped trying to point the finger and started to point the thumb at myself. I got in the playbook, and everything took off from there.”
The gains over the past year came after a difficult loss, the death of a beloved aunt.
“In October, I lost one of the most special people to me,” he said. “I dedicated this off-season to her.”
Quarterback Jake Curry, who took first-team snaps throughout spring practices as returning starter D.J. Williams carried a lighter load after a knee injury last fall, said Thomas’ commitment was noticeable.
“(Gaining 28 pounds) is not easy, especially for a receiver,” Curry said. “I was not able to tell a difference with his speed or routes or catching ability.”
Thomas said he hopes the added weight, which he plans to maintain over the summer, has helped him with contested catches and in the run game.
“I’ve made sure to use my size while still relying on my speed,” he said. “I’m working on 50-50 balls. I don’t want them to be 50-50 anymore. Just 100 to zero catches. Even when I don’t see the ball, I am making sure I block the right man.”
Hill said Thomas has impressed the team’s strength and conditioning coaches too.
“When we’re in a staff meeting, we go through the whole roster,” Hill said. “His name kept popping up positively. ‘Kyle has a different look on his face. Kyle is in here all the time. Kyle is in here on Saturday mornings when we open up (the weight room).’”
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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