Temple’s Tra Thomas is all in on doing his part to turn the Owls into a winner

Tra Thomas sat in the corner patiently waiting his turn.

He sat with a slice of pepperoni pizza, next up to test out the latest version of EA Sports’ College Football 25 that featured his name, image, and likeness. You wouldn’t have noticed him upon entering the video room at Temple’s Howard Gittis Student Center. To know Thomas, that might be by design.

Thomas has waited in the wings since arriving at Temple. He has made the most of his chances, but he played behind other Owls who got recognition over him — despite being awarded one of Temple’s single-digit jerseys, an honor given to players the coaching staff believes exhibit the qualities of the program.

Head coach Stan Drayton said as much. He heaped praise upon Thomas, who, since shifting from linebacker to edge rusher, has made himself a menace on the field.

“He’s a big part of what we do here,” Drayton said earlier this month. “He’s become a leader, and he understands what we are trying to do here. He’s one of those guys that you know day in and day out is going to give you his maximum, and we’re fortunate for it.”

Ask Thomas, and he’ll readily say Drayton is why he chose to remain at Temple and prepare for what he expects to be a breakthrough redshirt junior season, which begins Friday at No. 16 Oklahoma (7 p.m., ESPN).

“I’m comfortable here, there’s room for growth, and, honestly, I love Philly. I love the city — there’s a grit here that I relate to,” said Thomas, a native of Glen Burnie, Md., about 30 minutes from Baltimore. “But if I’m being honest, I like playing for Coach Drayton. Playing for a Black head coach was something that was big for me, especially on the [Division] I level.”

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His arrival at an FBS program came after a strong junior college season at Independence Community College. But ICC, located in rural Independence, Kan., was a long way from home, and Thomas felt he had what it took to play major college football.

In Temple, he’s getting that — sort of. The Owls have wallowed in three-win seasons since Drayton’s arrival in 2022, when Thomas arrived as a fresh-faced sophomore. Since then, he has seen countless players depart by graduation but also through the NCAA’s transfer portal in search of a winning program and a fresh start.

Thomas will tell you that every year offers a fresh start. And wins, not stats, are what bring notoriety.

“Sure, my goal is to get better every year, but, at the same time, at this level, winning these games means so much more,” Thomas said. “We put in the work. I mean, [we’re] all grinding, and then to come up short every week, it makes you angry, you know? But I’ve never thought about jumping ship or testing the waters or anything like that; it’s been about how I can get better. How can we get better?”

Even before Thomas blossomed into a 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive presence, he was always going to be named Tra.

Given the name by his father — Thomas jokes that the name later was approved by his mother — Thomas said he was given the name because the Eagles Hall of Fame offensive tackle by the same name was his father’s favorite player.

That means even more, knowing that his father is a big Baltimore Ravens fan. But it came full circle this spring when the former Eagle showed up during one of Temple’s practices. Thomas said they quickly hit it off, with Tra eager to act as a mentor on reading offenses, game planning against different quarterbacks, and more.

“He was great,” Thomas said. “He actually gave me his number and told me to hit him up anytime. He [said] if I needed help on, like, looking at old sets or anything about the [offensive] line, anything that can help my game, he’s open to talk about it. To me, that’s huge as I try to become more of a threat and get faster to the quarterback.”

It’s easy to see why the elder Tra is so willing to help the Owl who shares his name. On the field, Thomas can be a menace to offenses — let his eight tackles against Rutgers last season, and pair of sacks against South Florida (both career highs) serve as proof. Off the field, though, he comes off as a student of the game: willing to learn but completely unafraid of the opposition.

“Division I football to me is all the same playing field,” Thomas said when asked about opening this season on national television against the Sooners. “I feel like we all [are] on that level. In my head, it doesn’t matter if it’s a [school in a] Power 5 [conference] or an FCS. I feel like D1 is D1, right? There [are] some athletes in the FCS that could be in the Power 5, but they chose not to. I don’t approach how hard I’m going to play based on who we’re playing. My mental [state] is they all can get it.”

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Thomas doesn’t tell a lot of people his plans, but he’s got big ones.

If we’re talking strictly football, cracking an NFL roster is at the top of his list. It certainly helps that he witnessed former teammate Jordan Magee get drafted by Washington this spring. (Another former Owl, linebacker Yvandy Rigby, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Ravens this spring and was waived Tuesday on cut-down day.)

“There are a lot of things I want to do in my life with football and after football,” Thomas said. “But I keep those things to myself. I don’t really like telling everybody my goals. I do believe I could play in the NFL, and that’s always been a dream. But it’s also about what being in the league comes with and what it provides.

“I can come back to the community and just give back to the community, to my high school. I just want to be a role model to everybody, to all the young kids. I got kids back home, and they look up to me and things like that. I feel like getting there would show them that they can do it, too.”

With a standout season, Thomas could find more eyes on him as he pursues that goal. He’s one of the players Drayton and defensive coordinator Everett Withers are relying on. Should he stay at Temple for his senior season, he could put himself in the driver’s seat in following players like Magee.

But first, Oklahoma.

“Look, I’m not getting ahead of anything. There’s work to be done,” Thomas said. “But I’m putting my trust in God. I always have, and he’s with me out there. My goal is to work hard and pray that the rest takes care of itself.”