Solomon Thomas was born feisty. He arrived seven weeks premature and weighed four pounds.
"My dad said, 'That's such a big name for such a little boy,' '' said his mother, Martha. "He definitely grew into it."
Thomas is now a chiseled 6-foot-3, 273-pound junior defensive lineman on the Stanford football team. An All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection last year, he is a fierce competitor and tireless worker.
"His moves are imposing," said junior offensive tackle Casey Tucker, his roommate the past two years. "I don't know anyone else in the country more intense than him."
Off the field, Thomas is kind, sensitive, polite, goofy and curious. He has a soft spot for puppies and has had a crush on Beyoncé since fourth grade. The poster in his room is proof.
Thomas finally saw her perform this spring.
"One of the best experiences of my life," he said.
Thomas owns a Star Wars costume and waited two hours to see "The Force Awakens." While he loved the movie, he was disappointed by the turnout.
"We thought since it was in the Palo Alto area, there would be a lot of nerds there," he said.
Thomas believes in spirit animals and is partial to the hippo, gorilla and bear.
"I'm a kid in my head and joke around a lot and try to be silly," said Thomas, whom teammates call Solly. "I tell people I was taken as a kid and raised by these animals."
Despite his intimidating size, Thomas is soft-hearted off the field
A communication major, Thomas calls Stanford "One of the best places on earth." His favorite spot on campus is the quad, where he likes to ride his bike by Memorial Church at night.
"Never gets old," Thomas said.
He asked his mother to select his suits last month for the ESPYS in Los Angeles. Among the highlights: marveling up close at the size of Shaquille O'Neal and playing Pokemon GO.
"You really appreciate a guy like that because he takes time to smell the roses," said defensive line coach Diron Reynolds.
Thomas likes cooking, frequently using recipes off the internet. In middle school, his grandmother taught him how to make corn dogs and he prepared them for friends before school dances.
"He's pretty much experimented with it all," Tucker said. "Great steaks and lemon chicken."
Thomas coordinates the dorm room chores and is a stickler for neatness.
"He gets on me," said Tucker. "You have to follow the list."
His parents, Chris and Martha, were athletes at the College of Wooster, where he played basketball and she ran track. A close college friend was named Solomon and they liked the biblical reference.
Chris worked in sales and marketing for Proctor & Gamble and was transferred to Australia when his son was 2. They also have a daughter, Ella, 23.
Martha is a middle school teacher and coaches volleyball, basketball and track.
The family spent five years Down Under, where Thomas developed a love for fish and chips. His introduction to soccer was challenging, as he struggled with footwork and was assigned to play goalie.
A year later, he showed dramatic improvement. On his own, Thomas signed up for an Irish dance class -- the lone boy. Twice the size of the girls, he stuck with it and performed in school shows.
"What did you do with him?" asked his soccer coach.
The family returned to the United States and settled in Texas. In the fifth grade, Thomas discovered football … partly from his mother's prodding.
"All he wanted to do was play X-Games," she said.
And write sequels in his notebooks for books and movies.
When Thomas went out for youth football, he towered over his friends. Some were intimidated by his size and afraid they would get hurt. So Thomas improvised.
Instead of tackling them, he would pick them up and lay them on the ground.
Since his arrival on The Farm in 2014, Thomas has added 30 pounds. Even with his increased size, his 40-yard dash time has dropped and he has reduced his body fat.
With improved technique, his bench press has climbed from 236 pounds to 411. Thomas now does 30 reps of 225 compared to 13 as a freshman.
"He's the same, explosive guy, just bigger, faster and stronger," said Shannon Turley, the Kissick Family Director of Sports Performance.
A solid offseason has Solomon Thomas in the best shape of his career
After sitting out his first year, Thomas played in all 14 games last season and collected 39 tackles, 24 unassisted. Despite frequent double-teams, he recorded 10.5 tackles for loss, second-most on the team, 3.5 sacks and recovered two fumbles. The first thwarted a Notre Dame drive deep in Stanford territory just before halftime, and he carted the second 34 yards for a touchdown against USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Thomas' natural position is end, though he also played nose tackle.
"He can bring a lot of heat off the edge and cause disruption," Reynolds said. "We're going to put him where he can help us the most."
Reynolds worked with Thomas as a freshman before moving to Oklahoma last season. He rejoined the Cardinal staff this spring and has seen a remarkable transformation.
"The biggest thing was his size," Reynolds said. "And the motor he plays with and way he runs to the ball. He plays hard on every play."
This is not by accident. Thomas was a five-star recruit and the third-rated player in Texas when he committed to Stanford. He ranked among the best 40 overall players in the country by several recruiting services.
But talent alone doesn't guarantee success. Thomas took full advantage of his freshman season by developing his body in the weight room and studying film. He was a sponge around veteran standouts Henry Anderson and David Parry, who now play on Sundays.
Thomas loves the saying, "You have to be a dog and be gritty."
He is a perfectionist. After a poor play or series, Thomas will refocus on the sideline.
"All the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and a frown goes down," he said. "That's when I'm finally me."
Thomas' 10.5 tackles for loss were second among all Cardinal in 2015
Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Johnny Caspers knows the look. Blocking Thomas in practice has made him better but has its downside.
"Every time you make a mistake against Solomon, you know you're going to get beat," said Caspers.
Offensive and defensive players rarely room together, but Tucker and Thomas enjoy hanging out, often discussing technique and schemes.
"He can get off and fire through gaps before you get out of your stance," Tucker said. "He's going to find a way to scratch and claw out of that block and he does it forcefully."
During spring break, Thomas texted Reynolds daily for NFL video to watch.
"He's always trying to sharpen the knife," Reynolds said.
Turley is nationally respected for his rigorous off-season conditioning program and not easily impressed. Thomas runs with the Cardinal big skill group: quarterbacks, fullbacks and tight ends. But he often beats the skilled group, which includes wide receivers and defensive backs.
"You're talking about a third-year player that is carrying the banner for us on defense," said Turley. "The passion is very evident. Solomon isn't going to back down from a challenge, no matter how daunting."
Early on, he embraced the brotherhood of the sport and blossomed quickly. At Coppell High, located just north of Dallas near Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, Thomas made 105 tackles as a sophomore and 272 in three seasons.
Joe McBride coached him for four years, the last three on varsity. He will never forget Thomas' sophomore debut against Horn High of Mesquite.
"His motor was unbelievable," said McBride. "You finally saw him cut loose and make plays, running sideline to sideline. And his athleticism … I knew we had an incredible beast on our hands."
The spring before his junior year, college coaches and recruiters descended on Coppell High. Humble, polite and respectful, Thomas admitted that he didn't enjoy the experience.
"He was so much about his teammates," said McBride. "All through that recruiting process, even though he was a big-time star, he really deflected it. He didn't like to engage in the hoopla of all the people that were pulling at him. His focus was helping us win championships."
Thomas remains close to former players and coaches. When he's home, Thomas trains at Coppell High.
"He's so low-ego," McBride said. "They all love him. He is adored by this town."
When David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football at Stanford, watched film of Thomas, he marveled as his ability to defend the run, get off a block, rush and hit the quarterback and chase down running backs.
"Those are superstar plays and he makes them all the time," said Shaw.
Then he flew to Texas to meet Thomas.
"Everyone said he's the best leader they've ever been around," Shaw. "He has a maturity that is decades beyond his age."
Thomas downplays his physical transformation, citing healthy eating, state-of-the-art conditioning, coaching and great teammates. Others know better.
"Insatiable work ethic," said Turley.
Thomas is a student of the game and pays close attention to detail.
"Those things have pushed him to another level," said Reynolds.
It's one of the reasons Thomas and running back Christian McCaffrey are tight. They came to Stanford in the same class and have emerged as team leaders. Both were recently voted captains by their teammates.
This is a big deal. Prior to this season, Shaw only gave players the option of selecting seniors.
"I changed the rule to allow juniors," Shaw said. "I let the team vote, but I put them on the ballot."
Thomas learned the ropes from Anderson, Parry, Torsten Rotto, Brennan Scarlett and Aziz Shittu. He has made a point of sharing his knowledge with underclassmen.
"If I'm not doing that, I'm cheating the team and myself," he said.
For Thomas, nothing compares with gameday. He loves getting hyped with his teammates before taking the field, each pounding their chests in the tunnel shouting, "Let's Go!'' when the crowd engages. It's a pure adrenaline rush.
Those days are the culmination of sweat, repetition, focus and camaraderie. Many games are won in the spring and summer, under Turley's watchful eye, with team bonding, sacrifice and commitment.
"Every day, every rep matters," said Thomas.
He had the same mantra in high school.
"That's the thing people don't realize," McBride said. "He's been given an incredible DNA set by God himself. But he didn't just rest on that. He trained harder than everybody."
Thomas also saw action at tight end in high school but never scored. Last year's touchdown against USC was the first of his life.
"Kiki Martinez looked at me before the game and said, 'Solomon is going to score a touchdown tonight,' '' said Martha, referring to the mother of All-Pac-12 inside linebacker Blake Martinez.
Thomas came on strong in the final three games last season and has twice been challenged by Shaw. The first came minutes after beating Iowa in the Rose Bowl last January. He told Thomas he was just scratching the surface of his potential and that it was time to step up.
During spring practice, Shaw met with him again. He said the only way for Thomas to improve was up his tempo in practice and go all out. He had a similar conversation with Andrew Luck.
Shaw also told Thomas a story about Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers. Rice was a legendary worker and practiced as hard as he played. After every catch, regardless of the distance, he sprinted to the end zone.
"Coach told me no matter who was in front of Jerry, whether it was a scout team player or a starter, he always envisioned it was Deion Sanders because he wanted to play against the best and be the best," Thomas said. "I really want to be great this season."
