FAYETTEVILLE - Bret Bielema’s relationship with Robert Thomas has been one of his closest bonds with a player in his first season as Arkansas’ head coach.
Thomas, a senior defensive captain, was one of a small handful of players who piled into Bielema’s SUV when the team went to a movie theater during fall camp.
After Thomas broke the tibia in his left leg in the Razorbacks’ loss to South Carolina on Oct. 12, ending his college career, Bielema wanted to find a way to honor the defensive tackle’s contributions to the program.
“That Saturday night when Robert was hurt, I was sitting on my couch watching the world of college football and obviously [was] very upset,because not only is Robert a great player but he is a great person,” Bielema said. “It kind of popped in my mind that he’s got a 98, which is an eligible jersey number, which means that anybody that handles the football can wear his jersey even though he played defensive line.”
Bielema came up with the idea of asking Thomas if he would help select a player each week to wear his No. 98 for the rest of the season.
“I never thought anything like that would happen for me around here,” Thomas said Wednesday evening while meeting with the media for the first time since his injury. “That was an honor.”
Thomas selected fellow defensive tackle Byran Jones last week.
“He’s been one of my best friends since I got here,” Thomas said. “I know him better than I know myself.”
“We call each other brothers because we’re always together, on and off the field,” Jones said. “We came in together and we’ve gone through all the stuff together, the highs and the lows, and we always worked together.”
The loss of Thomas, who had been one of the most productive Arkansas defenders through the first half of the season, was another blow for a defense that has lacked depth following cornerback Will Hines’ broken arm in a 30-10 loss at Florida.
The Razorbacks, scuffling during a five-game losing streak, have given up 50 points in consecutive games for the first time in school history.
Thomas said he believes a turnaround could be in the making.
“I honestly feel like we can. Easily,” Thomas said. “Once we fix all the small mistakes and just get everything like it’s supposed to be running, it’ll be fine around here.”
The Razorback defenders said Thomas, who said he believes he can be working out again by the time bowl season arrives, has continued to be a leader.
“He always stays on the defensive line,” senior end and fellow captain Chris Smith said. “After the Alabama game he gave us a pretty hard talk. Big Rob is still a leader on this team.”
Thomas said he has been getting support from his wife, the former Kayla Huitt, a classmate of his at Muskogee (Okla.) High School. The two were married last Dec. 28.
Kayla can relate to her husband’s injury. She was recently discharged from the Army after blowing out her knee.
Thomas said he has been giving consideration to the players who could wear the No. 98 jersey in Arkansas’ final four games.
“Me being a big guy, like only the bigger guys could wear it,” Thomas said. “Only like the D-linemen could wear it.”
Linebacker Jarrett Lake, who played high school in Jenks, Okla., joked that he could make the 98 jersey look better than Thomas did.
“Oh yeah, I’d wear Robert’s number,” Lake said. “He’s involved a lot. He’s out there at practice almost every day, on the days that he doesn’t have treatment. You can see in the whole team that we’re playing for him.”
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash said Thomas has done great things on campus.
“He’s a captain, a leader and has got a lot of respect from the players,” Ash said. “It’s a great honor for Robert to do that. It’s a great honor for the player that gets chosen to do that.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 10/24/2013