Lawrence Thomas: Whatever It Takes

Oct. 27, 2015

By Derek Blalock, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant

No matter what happens in life, one Spartan does whatever it takes to succeed.

From growing up in Detroit to switching positions four times to battling injuries, fifth-year senior Lawrence Thomas shows the true definition of being a Spartan: "a person of great courage and self-discipline."

Despite going through all kinds of adversity, Thomas is living up to his former billing as a top prospect coming out of Renaissance High School. He currently is a starting defensive lineman for a Top 10 team in the country, but success for Thomas goes well beyond the gridiron.

Some might say no matter what happens on the football field, he has already succeeded. Thomas is the first person in his entire family to graduate high school, let alone go to college, and let alone go to college on scholarship.

"Those experiences right there have shaped me into the player I am today because they take you through so much mentally and have you grow as a player," Thomas, a sociology major, said. "I've already exceeded the expectations in my family and in my household, and I have a younger brother that I'm trying to set a path for and lay out a path for as well. (I've been able to) just open doors for my family, so it's kind of a big deal."

As a highly touted prospect, many factors played a role in Thomas committing to Michigan State, but possibly the most important factor was family.

A self-described "momma's boy," Thomas knew he didn't want to be far away from his mother during his college years. Being such a "family man," Michigan State caught his eye immediately because of the family atmosphere Mark Dantonio and his team of coaches have instilled into the culture of the football program, not to mention the plethora of Spartans from the Detroit area that have played at MSU.

"Coach D and the staff showed high energy from the get-go and just me being a real family man," Thomas said. "When I was in high school, I had a lot of guys that went to Michigan State: Chris Norman, Mylan Hicks, Dana Dixon, Will Gholston, Tony Lippett, Jeremy Langford, I knew all those guys from Michigan, and it just helped my decision out. It was kind of just like I was going home."

Thomas began his career as a linebacker in 2011, but after battling injuries his redshirt season, he made the move to defensive end in preseason camp to start out 2012. His path on defense was temporarily halted, however, as he flipped to the other side of the ball to play fullback as a red-shirt freshman.

Thomas returned to his natural position on defense during bowl practices leading up to the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against TCU. He hit yet another roadblock at the start of the 2013 season with a back injury, and was forced to miss the first half of the season.

At long last healthy, the 6-4, 305-pound Thomas started his first career game in the 2014 season opener against Jacksonville State, and hasn't looked back since. He's been a constant playmaker for the Spartans, recording 56 tackles, including five sacks, the past two seasons.

As a member of the Spartan defensive line, which some have touted as one of the top in the entire country, Thomas said this is another family he's proud to be of, led by Ron Burton, the third-year defensive line coach.

"(Demetrius Cooper) and Malik (McDowell) are two big goofies, but they're animals, man, and I love playing with them, they're like my little brothers," Thomas said. "Coach Burton notices the job so he comes in and makes it as easy as possible, so us as brothers goof around and play around a lot. But when it comes time to go on the field, we know the playing stops, and that we're one of the strongest units on this football team."

In his third year at MSU after spending 10 seasons at Air Force, Burton has led the defensive line through tremendous growth. He helped Thomas earned the Tommy Love Award in 2014, which is given to the team's most improved player.

"When Coach Burton got here, by him just being so active, just vocal and wanting to see his men succeed, and he wants to see us get a sack every play and his enthusiasm," Thomas said. "He brings the best out of all of us... (and) he just really helped develop us all into great men."

Though Burton has taken this defensive line to new heights, a key factor to the unit's success is the athleticism not normally on display on the defensive line, Thomas said.

"It's kind of scary, because we're all athletic guys, but we got a lot of depth, too," said Thomas, who has started in 20 consecutive games and can play both defensive tackle and defensive end. "We just got a lot of guys that can move and fly to the ball, so that helps out a lot. You make plays by running to the ball, and all those guys can run to the ball and play any position on that D-Line. That's the big thing about our D-Line -- we can all play every position, and everybody can do it to the best of their ability."

However, Thomas understands that success as a team and to be able to accomplish their goals lays on the entire team, and not just an individual unit.

With the number of injuries the Spartans have faced thus far, Thomas also knows that the top units on the team, the defensive line included, need to step up and be a squad that others on the team can lean on. It definitely showed in the win over No. 12 Michigan, as the Spartans held the Wolverines to a season-low 230 yards of total offense.

"It's football. Everybody gets banged up and nicked up, but I just feel like our team leans on the D-Line and looks at us," he said. "We can't afford to take plays off because our team depends on us, so we need to carry that weight as a unit and get the job done. When everybody sees us standing strong through all hardships and all the injuries, it's gonna get guys motivated and guys ready to just put their injuries to the side."

With an 8-0 record in the books heading into the bye week, all of the Spartans' goals and dreams are still in front of them as they remain undefeated.

"We're not looking ahead, but our goals are to get to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game first, because without that, we can't go anywhere," Thomas said. "First we're trying to take care of our side of the division first, win in Indy, go to the playoff and fight for the National Championship. Those are our goals, and we're going to keep fighting every day."

This feature was originally published in the Oct. 24 edition of Michigan State Gameday Magazine.