A Return and A Reminder: Thomas Comes Home to Miami

MIAMI — A playful catchphrase of Miami natives is “We live here, you vacation here.”

Both sides of that statement hold true for one Sooner. Junior safety Ahmad Thomas grew up surrounded by the splendor of South Florida — the palm trees, the sunshine, the Atlantic Ocean.

With the No. 4 Oklahoma football team's upcoming College Football Playoff semifinal game against undefeated and No. 1-ranked Clemson hosted by the Orange Bowl in Miami, Thomas is able to share his love for his hometown with his Sooner family.

“I want to show them around and let them get to know me a little bit better and show where I am from,” Thomas said. “Football-wise, I want to show them I can come anywhere to play without being distracted, especially home.”

While the majority of the players and coaches flew to Miami on Saturday, Thomas was already home enjoying a short holiday break before he got back to the business of football.

“It's always good to come back to see family and see my coaches and everybody who has helped me make it where I am today,” Thomas said. “My high school coaches say how they've seen me change into who I am today. They've seen me grow. They always talk about how proud they are of me because they helped me through a lot of stuff in high school.”

"They told me to get away and I'm glad I did leave. I started listening to everybody that wanted the best for me."
Junior S Ahmad Thomas

Thomas will have a dual role while the Sooners are in Miami. Having a native as a tour guide has its obvious benefits, but Thomas' presence on the field Dec. 31 will also be valuable to OU. Thomas is familiar with Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, the site of the semifinal. He has played against historic high school rivalries on the Miami Dolphins' home turf on a couple of occasions.

“We played Booker T. (Washington Senior High School) and The West (Miami Northwestern Senior High School) there and we won,” Thomas said. “It's just like last year when we played in the Citrus Bowl, because I played all of my high school state championship games there. Now that I'm back in another stadium I played in, it's a territorial thing.

“With that, I'm going into the game like 'no one will get anything on me',” he continued. “I try to push that energy into my teammates, because I know they probably feel like that when we go to Texas to play. I'm from here and I've been in the stadium so it's like this is my city and no one is going to come here and embarrass me.”

thomas high school

Thomas played for Miami Central Senior High School, winners of five of the last six state titles.

Thomas graduated in 2013 from Miami Central Senior High School, a current football powerhouse located in the heart of Miami Dade County. The Rockets have won five of the last six state championships, only losing to Seffner Armwood in 2011. Then a high school junior, Thomas lined up against Sooner teammate Eric Striker.

“I've played in big games all my life, ever since I was in Little League,” Thomas said. “I played semifinals, Super Bowl games, state championships, and now I'm back in the Orange Bowl. It's a dream, because everybody from Miami wants to play in the Orange Bowl game. I just want to make the best of it and come out with a win.”

Even with all of the activities that the tourist-laden city offers — one can bike ride through the everglades next to alligators — football occupied Thomas' life. Football is a way of life for Miamians, with every level from Pop Warner to the NFL available to locals.

“I just played football,” Thomas said. “I had to be wise, because you know, Miami, there's a lot of things you can get into.”

It was also football that took him out of his hometown.

“I was going to go to 'The U' (University of Miami), but everybody talked me out of it,” Thomas said. “They told me to get away and I'm glad I did leave. I started listening to everybody that wanted the best for me.”

While the glamor of Miami Beach attracts people from around the world, Thomas' reality was far different from the bright lights on Ocean Drive. Thomas grew up in the Robin Hood area of Miami with his grandmother and mother. In 2007, his grandmother lost a battle to cancer and her house was eventually foreclosed on, forcing Thomas, then 13, and his mother to move into a one-bedroom apartment.

Thomas has started the last 25 games for the Sooners, and has totaled 152 career tackles.

“It's real hard to raise a kid in Miami and it was hard on my family,” Thomas said. “Also because you've got drug dealers on the corner from your house and you've got people robbing people. It's crazy for everybody in Miami because you never know what's going to happen. South Beach is what everybody thinks of Miami, but that's not the whole city.”

Despite sometimes difficult realities, Thomas continued to excel. As memories of childhood can sometimes be, the two-time state champion has mixed emotions about his hometown. One thing that is very certain, however, is his love for the Caribbean- and Latino-influenced foods that Miami offers.

“I love Jamaican patties and I was missing them when I went to Oklahoma, so I had my people mail me some,” Thomas said. “They don't have too much Jamaican food in Oklahoma.”

Now that he is home, he does not have to ask. Thomas is not focused on food this visit, and is instead ready to help his team continue its run toward a national championship. The prestige of the city and the game may overwhelm some, but Thomas said that he remembers the words of his high school head coach Telly Lockette.

“He always used to say, “Train like you've been here before, win like you've been here before and act like you've been here before,” Thomas said.

Luckily for the Sooners, he truly has.