Demaryius Thomas, WR

On an offense known for its dominant rushing attack, Thomas' ability to stretch the field as a deep target kept defenses at bay. With his unique combination of size, body control and speed, scouts are hopeful that he'll continue the trend in the NFL.

Thomas redshirted at Georgia Tech in 2006 and emerged as a legitimate downfield threat only a year later, averaging 15.9 yards per catch and leading the team with four touchdown receptions. Despite starting all 12 games in 2008, Thomas only caught four more passes (39) for 627 yards and dropped to only three touchdowns.

The angular wideout enjoyed a breakout performance as a junior, however, posting career highs in receptions (46), receiving yards (1,154) and touchdowns (eight). His gaudy 25.1 yards per reception was second in the nation and broke the school and ACC record. The production led to his earning first-team all-ACC and third-team AP All-American accolades. Though scouts are certainly intrigued by Thomas' size and spectacular big-play production, they're concerned that head coach Paul Johnson's triple-option attack both stunted his growth as receiver and significantly boosted his statistics. The broken foot he suffered working out before the Combine may have dropped his stock slightly, but teams saw enough of his potential on film that a top 20 pick isn't out of the question.

Release: Adequate lateral quickness and good upper-body strength to defeat press coverage. Long-strider with good build-up speed to eat up the cushion. Doesn't possess a clear second gear to accelerate and separate.

Hands: Strong, generally secure hands. Too often allows the ball into his pads on shallow routes, though he does a good job of securing. Good jump-ball candidate due to his height and leaping ability. Times his jumps well and high-points the ball, showing good hand-eye coordination to make the reception while competing for position. Good to very good body control to contort in space for a receiver of his size. Will leap, catch the ball and continue twisting so that when he hits the ground he's in position to keep running downfield instead of back toward the quarterback. Like a lot of bigger receivers, only has marginal overall flexibility to reach the low pass despite his long arms.

Route running: A significant area of concern. Not asked to run many pro-style routes in this offense. Most often used on simple go, drag or quick screens designed to get him one-on-one against smaller corners. May not have the suddenness in changing directions to generate separation against NFL defensive backs. Has to do a better job of coming off the line hard to sell his route when his team runs the ball. Can tip off his opponents by his effort to get downfield off the snap.

After the catch: One of his better areas. While far from nifty in the open field, shows some vision to set up his blocks and cut back against the grain, a strong stiff-arm and legitimate speed when he's in stride. Good balance and body control to sneak down the sideline for a receiver of his size. Tough for any cornerback to bring down one-on-one.

Blocking: Not the physical dominator one might think considering his size. Certainly has the strength to control his defender, but is far too inconsistent in this area; mostly due to inconsistent effort.

Intangibles: Nicknamed "Bay-Bay," which is why the back of his uniform reads "B. Thomas." Mother and grandmother went to jail for cocaine trafficking, eventually lived with his uncle, a preacher, who put him on a good life path.

Thomas was a first-team All-ACC selection, a third-team Associated Press All-American and a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award in 2009. On an offense known more for its rushing attack, Thomas emerged as one of the nation's top receivers this season: Thomas had 46 of Georgia Tech's 78 receptions. His 1,154 receiving yards this season were the second-most in Georgia Tech history, trailing only Calvin Johnson (1,202 yards in 2006). Thomas had eight of Tech's 11 touchdown receptions. He averaged a remarkable 25.1 yards per reception. Thomas produced four games of 100-plus yards receiving in '09. He had 18 receptions of 20 yards or longer, nine receptions of 50 yards or longer and four catches of 70-plus yards this season.

Thomas concludes his career with 120 receptions (7th-most in Tech history) for 2,339 yards (4th-most in Tech history) and 15 receiving touchdowns (4th-most in Tech history). He caught a pass in 29 consecutive games before seeing that streak end in the 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl.

Georgia Tech's best receiver since Calvin Johnson and one of the most skilled receivers in the ACC … greatly improved his blocking skills … ranked eighth in the ACC in receiving yards per game (52.2 ypg) … caught at least one pass in every game he played in … had 39 receptions for 627 yards … had more than half of Tech's receptions (39 of 74) … had nine receptions of 20 yards or longer … averaged 16.1 yards per reception … has 1,185 career receiving yards to rank tied for 16th in Tech history … has more career receiving yards than any active non-junior or senior in the ACC … his 74 career receptions rank tied for 19th in Tech history … had three receiving touchdowns in 2008, seven for his career … has recorded two career 100-yard receiving games … caught three passes for 32 yards vs. LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31) … showed his versatility in the Miami game (Nov. 20) when he had two receptions for 17 yards, one rushing attempt for 14 yards and he threw a 22-yard pass completion to Lucas Cox … had four receptions at 19th-ranked North Carolina (Nov. 8) … had five of Tech's seven receptions, for 88 yards, including a 42-yard strike from Josh Nesbitt vs. Virginia (Oct. 25) … was a hero in the win at Clemson (Oct. 18) when he hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Nesbitt with 5:22 remaining to lift Tech to a 21-17 road win … finished the game with four receptions for 56 yards.

Recorded two receptions for 41 yards including a key 35-yard reception from Calvin Booker vs. Gardner-Webb (Oct. 11) … had one of the finest days by a receiver in Georgia Tech history vs. Duke (Oct. 4) … hauled in all nine of Tech's receptions for 230 yards -- the second-most single-game receiving yards in school history … had an 88-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Jaybo Shaw -- the third-longest pass play in Tech history and the longest since 1996 … caught his first touchdown pass of the season -- a 20-yard pass from Jaybo Shaw -- vs. Mississippi State (Sept. 20) … did not play in the Virginia Tech (Sept. 13) game to recover from a mild concussion … had four of Tech's six receptions at Boston College (Sept. 6) for 56 yards … had one catch for nine yards and threw a pancake block that led to a touchdown vs. Jacksonville State (Aug. 28) … a talented and athletic receiver with big-play capability … has outstanding speed.

2007 ACC All-Freshman Team (Sporting News). Played in all 13 games and started 10 times … started the final eight games of the season … ranked second among all Yellow Jacket receivers in receptions (35) and receiving yards (558) … had twice as many touchdown receptions (4) than any other Tech receiver … averaged 15.9 yards per reception … also had one rushing attempt and one passing attempt … caught one pass in each of the first two games of his rookie season before hauling in five passes for 68 yards including a long of 43 against Boston College (Sept. 15) … scored his first career touchdown on a pass from Taylor Bennett at Virginia (Sept. 22) … ended up with four catches for 86 yards, including a 56-yarder, against the Wahoos … was outstanding at Maryland (Oct. 6) … had a career-high nine receptions, had one TD reception, and went over the 100-yard receiving mark (139 yards) for the first time in his career … had two catches for 46 yards and was credited for a touchdown reception on a ball he didn't catch at Duke (Nov. 10) … D.J. Donley caught a pass from Taylor Bennett but fumbled into the end zone where Thomas recovered for a TD against the Blue Devils … had three receptions vs. North Carolina and two more vs. Georgia … had four catches for 69 yards and one touchdown in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Redshirted.

Member of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Top 50 in Georgia . . . Also a first-team all-state selection in Class AA by the AJC . . . Rated the No. 22 prospect in Georgia by Scout.com and the No. 34 player in the state by Rivals.com . . . PrepStar All-Region selection . . . Two-time all-region and all-Heart of Georgia choice . . . Selected for the GACA North-South All-Star game . . . Had 56 catches for 756 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior, following 32 receptions for 330 yards and three scores as a junior . . . Coached by John Kenny.

Full name is Demaryius Antwon Thomas . . . Born December 25, 1987 . . . Parents are Shirley Brown and Bobby Gene Thomas . . . Majoring in management.