When Michael Thomas was setting the league on fire in 2019, Chris Olave was going into his second season at Ohio State with NFL dreams well off in the distance.
But heading into the 2023 season, it's Olave who is the feisty young player eager to prove himself. Thomas is the elder statesman, not unlike the role another Buckeye legend Ted Ginn served for him. It's a role the 30-year-old has embraced even as he aims to show he's got a lot left in the tank despite injuries costing him the better part of the past three seasons.
"We need [leadership] in the room and I’m here to do that, to tell these guys," Thomas said after the first of two joint practices with the Chargers. "They look up to me, so I’m here to talk to them honestly, give them a good example, any way I can help them, any questions they ask, pick my brain, I’m there to add value to them to."
The pair has a lot in common in terms of their mentality, particularly when it comes to the ferocity they bring to the field. Olave was particularly dominant in his 1-on-1 reps, beating Chargers CB Asante Samuel on three of four 1-on-1 reps, with the only miss flagged by the refs for defensive pass interference.
Related
After multiple reps, Olave could be seen jawing with Samuel. It's the type of attitude that Thomas encourages. He's "a dog," Thomas says. That's what they teach you at Ohio State.
"We compete all day at practice and we come out here," Thomas said, "that’s what makes the game fun for us is competing and going against the best and proving ourself right and winning our rep and getting the team going and having everyone feed off us. We look for that and we take pride in that.”
Whether it's Olave, another second-year pro in Rashid Shaheed, rookie A.T. Perry or others, Thomas' leadership role will be one that could impact the season on and off the field.