When he announced his retirement from the NFL last year, many figured Joe Thomas would only have to wait the minimum five years before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As it turns out, the former Cleveland Browns left tackle won't even have to wait that long for his first enshrinement.
On Monday, it was revealed that Thomas will be one of 13 players to make up the 2019 class of the College Football Hall of Fame. The announcement was made on SportsCenter as a part of ESPN's coverage of Monday night's College Football Playoff Championship Game between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson.
In addition to Thomas, who spent his standout college career at Wisconsin, former John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher will also be inducted this year. The 13 players comprising the 2019 class are as follows:
- Joe Thomas, OL, Wisconsin
- London Fletcher, LB, John Carroll
- Vince Young, QB, Texas
- Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi
- Troy Polamalu, DB, Souther California
- Torry Holt, WR, North Carolina State
- Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
- Jake Plummer, QB, Arizona State
- Terrell Buckley, DB, Florida State
- Rickey Dixon, DB, Oklahoma
- Jacob Green, DL, Texas A&M
- Raghib Ismail, KR/WR, Notre Dame
- Lorenzo White, RB, Michigan State
Two coaches, Dennis Erickson (Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, Miami Fla., Oregon State, Arizona State) and Joe Taylor (Howard, Virginia Union, Hampton, Florida A&M), also made this year's class.
In four seasons with the Badgers, Thomas started 38 games, twice earning All-Big Ten honors. As a senior in 2006, the Brookfield, Wis. native was a unanimous All-American selection and the recipient of the Outland Trophy, which is awarded each season to the nation's best interior lineman.
After being selected by the Browns with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Thomas went on to play a league record 10,363 consecutive snaps before a torn triceps suffered in the 2017 season brought both his streak and career to an end. Over that span, Thomas earned 10 Pro Bowl and 7 first-team All-Pro selections before officially retiring on March 14, 2018.
In October, Thomas was inducted into the Browns' Ring of Honor, with his '10,363' snaps streak enshrined in FirstEnergy Stadium.