- Sep 6, 2005
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Another Australian who could make an NFL roster this off-season is Adrian Thomas.
Towering Adrian Thomas is on the verge of fulfilling his NFL dream after putting his hand up for the draft in April.
The former Gymea Technology High School student has spent the past five years playing for University of Hawaii.
Now with his college football stint over, the Right Guard has set his sights on joining the likes of Darren Bennett, Colin Ridgway, and Matt McBriar as a handful of Australian who have cracked into professional NFL setup.
"The experience was great and I had a lot of great times on and off the field," Thomas, 23, said.
"I met a lot of great people and football-wise it was a great experience. We won a couple of championships and went to the bowl."
His Hawaiian stint ended with a 62-35 loss against University of Tulsa in a Hawaii Bowl game in front of almost 50,000 people at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on Christmas Eve.
Thomas has spent the past week back in Sutherland Shire before heading to the US.
He will undergo extensive training camps in Arizona or California.
"I'm going to train in mainland US," Thomas, formerly of Bangor, said. "You go there and there are a bunch of scouts and NFL coaches."
"If you perform well they'll look at your highlights and then you have to wait and see if you are drafted."
If things do not go Thomas' way in the draft, he hopes to be picked up on the free-agency list.
"If not there are other leagues like Arena football," Thomas said.
"There is also the United Football League, which is like a feeder league for the NFL."
Thomas started playing at 13, for Sutherland Seahawks.