Cowboys draftee Josh Thomas learning to deal with new-found attention

[sbk92]

Rainer Sabin / Reporter


Josh Thomas' life has already changed since he was drafted by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday. In a story by the Buffalo News, Thomas, a cornerback from Cedar Hill who played at the University of Buffalo, discusses the impact of his hometown team's decision to select him:

• Thomas... is discovering what it means to become a part of America's Team. No longer can the unassuming Thomas walk around Dallas without being recognized.
  
  "There are lots of changes, but I didn't think the changes would happen so sudden," he said during a news conference at UB on Tuesday. "Walking through the airport and people staring at you, it's very different from what I'm used to."
  
  There are more requests for his time and phone calls from family and friends he's never heard of. Shortly before Thomas left for Buffalo, the CBS affiliate in Dallas called seeking an interview with him and his family.
  
  "I've never been put on a stage where I've been put in the press or the media and have to answer questions due to things happening," Thomas said. "I've only had two or three interviews before this and now I'm seeing all kinds of things about me on the Internet. People have been calling me from phone numbers I've never seen before and people having to tell me who they are. There are even some family members where I didn't know their names. But that's what I've been dealing with the past few days."

Thomas is soon going to learn he will be living in a fishbowl at Valley Ranch, where there will be plenty of microphones and recorders thrust in his face if he does something good or bad on the field.

But he seems ready to embrace it all as he begins his quest to earn a roster spot and playing time with the team he loved while growing up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.