Ty Thomas

Due to persistent hamstring injuries, Arizona State sophomore Ty Thomas is seeking to retire from football but remain on scholarship and finish his degree at the school through paperwork filed with the NCAA. He is no longer on ASU's roster and has not been working out with the team since it returned from the holiday break.

Thomas, a 5-foot-11 safety who joined the Sun Devils in the 2017 class out of Cooper High School in Lubbock, Texas, has rarely been able to practice at full speed in his two years with the program.

"After suffering numerous hamstring tears, I decided to medically retire," Thomas told Sun Devil Source. "It’s unfortunate how it ended but the staff was extremely helpful through the process, and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with (ASU) coach (Herm) Edwards and the staff. I don’t plan on transferring as of now."

An impressive athlete in high school, Thomas was never able to really show what he could do at ASU due to the chronic injuries. He wasn't listed on the team's two-deep in the last year, mostly relegated to conditioning drills on the sidelines.

The No. 68 safety prospect in the country and No. 124 overall recruit in Texas in the 2017 class, Thomas signed with the Sun Devils over Texas Tech and other programs. He reported scholarship offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Washington State and West Virginia. He initially committed to Washington State, then switched to Oklahoma State and eventually the Sun Devils under the previous coaching staff.

Thomas had the 11th best Nike Football Rating and No. 1 among safeties out of 296 participants at The Opening regional he attended in the spring of his junior year of high school with a score 113.43. He ran an electronic 4.72 40-yard dash, had a 4.32 second short shuttle, a great 36.8 inch vertical jump and 43.0 power ball toss, which is elite.

Thomas' Nike + Football Rating score was among the top 25 defensive backs nationally in the class out of 15,000 plus participants.

The son of former Texas Tech safety Bart Thomas and nephew of former eight-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Zach Thomas claimed a 450 pounds squat and 300-plus pound benchpress while still in high school.