Pierre Thomas

Charles Pierre Thomas Jr. (born December 18, 1984) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League. Pierre Thomas's first love was baseball and it was not until a year before high school that he picked up football. Thomas played for the Lansing Lions as a youth. Thomas lead Thornton Fractional South High School to the state semifinals as a senior and set school career rushing records of 88 touchdowns and 5,522 yards that also ranked in the top 10 in Illinois state history. Some of his self-taught practice for high school football included running up a steep hill with a backpack full of books on and pushing cars around. He was recruited by the University of Illinois. Pierre's biggest inspiration is his mother and his cousin. His hero is Barry Sanders, former running back for the Detroit Lions. As a true freshman, Pierre earned his first start following a 49 – 14 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in which he scored the Illini’s only two touchdowns. Pierre was a little banged up after going to battle against a tough Wolverine defense; however, after he learned he would be starting the following week against Minnesota at home, Pierre kept