Best college football players of all time from every state

Wisconsin – Joe Thomas

Wisconsin has produced some impressive football talent over the years, but none come with quite the size of the massive offensive lineman out of Brookfield, Wisconsin—Joe Thomas.

In high school, Thomas was listed among the top 20 offensive tackles nationally, despite playing a large mixture of positions for Brookfield Central, which included right tackle, defensive end, tight end, and punter/placekicker.

In his college career for his home-state Badgers, Thomas played mostly as a tight end as a freshman in 2003, before switching to become a mainstay at the left tackle position, helping fuel a dynamic Badgers’ ground game that included dynamic backs like Anthony Davis and Matt Bernstein.

Thomas gained national recognition during his sophomore year, when he started all 13 games at left tackle for the Badgers, and was named a first-team All-American while opening up the field for dynamic back Brian Calhoun, who had an unexpectedly dominant year on the ground, rushing for 1,500 yards, and catching passes for another 500. In his senior season, Thomas won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman and was recognized as a consensus All-American, in a season where the Badgers finished 12-1 with a Capital One Bowl victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Thomas would go on to play his full career in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns after being the No. 3 pick in 2007, helping the team through some of the harshest moments in the franchise’s history.