If you were hoping for some explanation of the Todd Thomas situation from the linebacker himself, good luck with that. Unlike a lot of athletes that refuse to comment after news breaks on Twitter, Thomas actually responded to the report of him leaving the program.
Unfortunately for us, the statements only added to the confusion about his departure.
Thomas first offered this, insisting he didn't quit:
I didn't quit so stop saying that!!
— Toddy Thomas 8 (@Toddythomas8) August 7, 2013
Next up was this:
Nobody took my spot for the record.. But I did what's best for me! I still love pitt!
— Toddy Thomas 8 (@Toddythomas8) August 7, 2013
Taking these one at a time here. The first one is the more confusing tweet of the two by far. If indeed, Thomas didn't quit, it would indicate that he was either asked to leave or isn't leaving Pitt after all. We don't know much here, but all indications point to neither of those being the case.
My only guess is that Thomas is saying he's not 'quitting', rather 'leaving.' And if that's the case ... well, okay.
Quitting is a nasty word and I'm sure that it bothers Thomas to hear his name in that context. But with what we know so far, it's hard to draw a different conclusion. Maybe more comes out - that's really the only hope we have if trying to find out the whole story.
Regarding the second tweet - again, just confusing. Most people don't really believe that Thomas had been beaten out by true freshman Mike Caprara. In fact, the earlier comments from his coach about using motivational tactics with Thomas indicate that it was something he had to resort to himself in high school when coaching him. Putting Thomas on the second team for the first day of camp appeared to be just that - a motivational tactic.
Only thing is that it seems as if Thomas didn't take it that way. I can't possibly believe that one practice led to Thomas' dismissal - there surely had to be other factors at play here.
Stay tuned - more to come.
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