Derrion Thomas
It’s been an amazing year for Blue Springs South graduate Derrion Thomas. He was a part of his father Derrick’s Hall of Fame induction at Canton, Ohio, and his NJCAA No. 1-ranked Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College football team reached Sunday’s junior college national championship game in Pittsburg, Kan., against No. 2 Blinn (Texas) College of Houston, Texas. Thomas did not compete in the game (which Blinn won 31-25) so he could be at Arrowhead Stadium, where many of his father’s former teammates and head coach Marty Schottenheimer were on hand for the retirement of his Kansas City Chiefs No. 58 jersey.
1. How special was this day for the Thomas family? It’s very special. To see my dad’s former teammates and to have Coach Schottenheimer here is very special. I’m experiencing a lot of emotions.
2. Was this as emotional as your father’s Hall of Fame induction? No, not really, although it is very emotional. This is more of a family gathering and sitting back and enjoying the game. I really enjoy coming to Arrowhead and watching games.
3. What’s it like to look into the crowd, on such a frigid afternoon, and see so many No. 58 jerseys? It’s great. I know my dad’s up there watching, and looking at all the No. 58 jerseys, and smiling. He loved it when fans wore his jersey to the games.
4. Tamba Hali has a couple of sacks and stripped the ball away from (Denver quarterback) Kyle Orton twice (Hali finished with a career-high three sacks). He must be channeling energy from your father? I hope my father is serving as an inspiration to Tamba. He’s playing great today. It’s almost like the way my father played. That’s been one of my favorite parts of the game.
5. How tough was it to choose appearing at Arrowhead for your father’s jersey retirement over playing for Fort Scott in the junior college national championship? Oh, it was tough. I would have loved to have played in the game, but I couldn’t miss this. There is no way I would miss what happened today at Arrowhead. This was a very special day and the Chiefs did a nice job with the halftime ceremony.
