THE FLATS – Georgia Tech linebacker Charlie Thomas (Thomasville, Ga./Thomasville H.S.) is participating in this week’s East-West Shrine Game in Las Vegas. The week-long college football all-star showcase culminates on Thursday with the 98th East-West Shrine Game at Allegiant Stadium, which will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET and be televised nationally on NFL Network.
Thomas earned the Shrine Game invite after emerging as one of college football’s most versatile and productive defenders at Georgia Tech. He stuffed the stat sheet with 313 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, seven forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and four interceptions in 56 games as a Yellow Jacket. In addition to his primary role at linebacker, Thomas also lined up in the secondary and even as a defensive lineman during the course of his five seasons on The Flats (2018-22). His 56 games played rank second in school history, behind only classmate Malachi Carter, who played in 58 games as a wide receiver at Tech.
Thomas put together a historic season as a senior in 2022, racking up 112 tackles, 10.5 TFL, two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, which he returned for a total of 114 yards. He is one of only two NCAA Division I FBS players since 2000 with at least 112 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in a regular season (and the first since TCU’s Paul Dawson in 2014).
For Thursday’s East-West Shrine Game, Thomas is on the West squad, which is coached by the New England Patriots’ coaching staff. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is acting in a supervisory role with wide receivers coach Troy Brown serving as the head coach. In addition to Thursday’s contest, the East-West Shrine Game has featured practices throughout the week that have been attended by personnel from all 32 NFL teams.
Thomas is one of six Yellow Jackets that were selected to play in postseason all-star events this year. Last month, running back Hassan Hall participated in the College Gridiron Showcase, wide receiver E.J. Jenkins played in the Hula Bowl and Carter and linebacker Ayinde Eley played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. On Saturday, defensive lineman Keion White will play in the Senior Bowl.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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