The San Francisco 49ers drafted defensive lineman Solomon Thomas on Thursday, and he’ll make the short move from Palo Alto to Santa Clara. As a first round pick, and particularly the No. 3 overall pick, expectations are high heading into his rookie season.
We’ll do plenty of film breakdown and analysis over the next few months, but conveniently enough SB Nation had a chance to learn more about how Thomas became the player he now is. We have a series called “Origins” in which we do a deep dive into how professional athletes have reached such high levels.
This one on Thomas is pretty fascinating. The most random fact is probably that Irish dance lessons at a young age helped improve his footwork. But it’s a fascinating watch. He grew up in Australia before moving to Texas. He went through a lot playing middle school and high school football before attending Stanford.
The video features Thomas, his parents, a high school coach, and others. It’s a great watch.