{"id":87079,"date":"2025-04-01T12:30:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/how-temple-transfer-lb-tra-thomas-bond-with-dc-d-j-eliot-helped-in-his-transition-at-nc-state\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T12:30:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:30:58","slug":"how-temple-transfer-lb-tra-thomas-bond-with-dc-d-j-eliot-helped-in-his-transition-at-nc-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/how-temple-transfer-lb-tra-thomas-bond-with-dc-d-j-eliot-helped-in-his-transition-at-nc-state\/","title":{"rendered":"How Temple transfer LB Tra Thomas\u2019 bond with DC D.J. Eliot helped in his transition at NC State"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s something poetic about NC State<\/a> linebacker Tra Thomas\u2019<\/a><\/strong> Division I football journey. It began as a junior college product at Temple, playing under defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot<\/a><\/strong> for one season. And it will end with Eliot calling plays again, just this time with the Wolfpack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thomas, who hails from Glen Burnie, Md., built a bond with Eliot as he was being recruited out of Independence Community College following the 2021 season. He dreamed of playing D-I football and the relationship between him and Eliot made that a reality the following year in Philadelphia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And with Eliot as both his position coach and defensive coordinator at Temple, Thomas thrived. He posted 14 total tackles, including four for a loss, with three sacks in just four games before a season-ending injury sidelined Thomas the rest of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, Eliot took a job as the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 linebacker coach. That left Thomas at Temple with a new defensive coordinator, where he put up consistent totals (58 total tackles with 9.5 for a loss and five sacks), but it wasn\u2019t the pace he was at in Eliot\u2019s disruptive scheme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A chance to reunite in the system that Thomas thrived in? That was something he couldn\u2019t pass up at NC State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great coach, has taught me a lot,\u201d Thomas said of Eliot after Tuesday\u2019s spring practice. \u201cHe left after my first year there and we linked back up [in] my last year. It\u2019s a blessing to me because he knows a lot about the game. He\u2019s been in the game a long time and has gotten a lot of people into the NFL that I know, so it\u2019s been a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, as the band got back together in Raleigh, it has been mutually beneficial. For Thomas, he\u2019s with the coach that initially believed he could perform at the D-I level. For Eliot, it\u2019s an opportunity to see Thomas\u2019 growth continue in his three-down front that will get after the quarterback in a hurry.<\/p>\n

\u201cTra and I have a tremendous relationship,\u201d Eliot said .\u201cI recruited him, I coached him. I even mentored him after I left and went to the Eagles. So him coming and us having that already, we were able to kind of get ahead, because we didn\u2019t have to build that, like I had to with some of the other players.\u201d<\/p>\n

While their bond was already built before either one arrived at NC State, Thomas\u2019 ability to speak Eliot\u2019s football language has been helpful in the meeting rooms. The rest of the Wolfpack\u2019s linebackers are trying to learn a new scheme, one that Thomas is well-versed in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In turn, he has become a valuable resource for his teammates to come to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know most of the plays already, so I\u2019m already ahead of some of the guys,\u201d Thomas said with a grin. \u201cSometimes I\u2019m naming the plays or the things we\u2019re supposed to in the meetings [before they\u2019re said].\u201d<\/p>\n

NC State coach Dave Doeren thought Thomas\u2019 ability to \u201ctranslate things for players\u201d has made him a \u201creally good addition\u201d to the Wolfpack\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s been an easy transition for Thomas to make, he is hungry to end his collegiate career on a high note. And he believes that will be possible with Eliot calling the plays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready. I can\u2019t wait,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cHe knows my skill set and he knows what to do with me when I\u2019m on the field. The plays that he calls, it\u2019s meant for me to make a lot of plays. I\u2019m ready. I\u2019m ready to roll, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still just under five months until Thomas will be able to lace up his cleats and strap his helmet to make his official NC State debut against East Carolina. But if that game were tomorrow, he is more than ready to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, his motivation to beat the Pirates is through the roof after ECU handed Temple a 56-34 defeat last October. Like the rest of the Pack, which lost to the Pirates 26-21 in the Military Bowl, Thomas is eager to deliver the same feeling to ECU under the lights of Carter-Finley Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to dominate in that game,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for that first game. They\u2019re going to feel me every play.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with Eliot calling the plays, Thomas is almost sure to have an immediate impact from the first snap of his lone season at NC State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post How Temple transfer LB Tra Thomas\u2019 bond with DC D.J. Eliot helped in his transition at NC State<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s something poetic about NC State linebacker Tra Thomas\u2019 Division I football journey. It began…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87079\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}