Football | 10/5/2017 10:11:00 AM

By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

Naiquan Thomas wanted just one thing for his birthday. A victory.
 
Last Saturday afternoon on the day Thomas turned 22 he and his Fairmont State University teammates put on a dominating performance in front of over 2,800 fans on homecoming at Duvall-Rosier Field as the Falcons broke open a close game with Virginia-Wise and cruised to a 34-6 win.
 
"That's all I really wanted for my birthday was for us to come out of that game with a win," Thomas said with a smile. "I didn't really ask for anything else. Playing the sport you love on your birthday and getting a victory like we did here at home on homecoming in front of a nice crowd – that was enough. It was the best gift."
 
Speaking of gifts, Thomas has been a pretty good one for the 4-1 Falcons as well. Five games into the 2017 season the 6-foot, 215-pound senior free safety is currently tied for fifth on the team in total tackles with 22, 14 of which have been solo stops. He's tied for first on the team in pass breakups with four and is second on the squad in passes defended with five. He also has one interception, which he returned eight yards for a touchdown in FSU's season opener against East Stroudsburg.
 
Thomas is from Englewood, N.J. where he starred on both sides of the football at Dwight Morrow High School as a running back and defensive back. He finished his career as Dwight Morrow's all-time leading rusher and signed with the University of Rhode Island. In three seasons with the Rams he appeared in 28 games and made 14 starts on defense, mostly at linebacker. As a junior in 2015 he enjoyed his most productive year at Rhode Island when he appeared in 10 games, made nine starts and finished third on the team in tackles with 55.
 
During his time at Rhode Island the Rams went just 5-30 and following the 2015 season Thomas was looking to transfer.
 
"I left for personal reasons," he said. "When I knew I wanted to transfer a former coach of (FSU defensive line coach) Greg Richmond's who I knew from back home told me about Fairmont State. I looked into the school and the team and we got in contact with G-Rich. He called me and really made me feel comfortable. It's weird I felt like I was a part of the team even though I wasn't even here yet and that stuck with me. I felt like a program that had that much interest in me must really want me so I decided to come here. It's been a great choice even though I had to sit out a year. Looking back now that experience made me a better person and a better teammate."
 
When Thomas arrived in Fairmont he was ineligible for the 2016 season, but was able to practice with the team. He did so spending the majority of last season on the scout defense. Most Division I transfers would balk at the idea of having to serve on the scout squad. Thomas, however, didn't and instead embraced the opportunity as chance to make himself even better.
 
"I knew I had one season of college left to play and I looked at that as a chance to perfect my craft and to make myself better," Thomas said. "I'm not going to lie, at first I was a little frustrated because I wanted to play so bad, but when I knew I couldn't I just used the opportunity to make myself better and learn even more about the game. Honestly now looking back I think I'm much more prepared as a player than I would have been if I had played last year."
 
First-year FSU secondary coach Quindell Dean says it didn't take him long when he arrived in Fairmont to realize Thomas was a special player with special talents.
 
"Quan is a special player and a special guy," Dean said. "He's a guy who comes to work every day and gets better every day. The thing I really love about him is he's a seasoned guy. His football IQ is pretty high. I allow him to take advantage of his athleticism. I don't want him to be a robot. I want him to do his job, but also be a football player. I give him a lot of freedom because he is such a great athlete, but he doesn't abuse that. I can always count on him to do the right thing and be in the right position to make a play.
 
"One thing I'm always telling him is be a savage out there. Don't take any plays off and take advantage of every single opportunity. He's a player who missed all of last season in terms of playing in games and I know that hurt him, so he's glad to be back. He wants to make the most of every chance he gets to be on the field and so far he's doing it for us."
 
Physical play is Thomas' calling card. Against Wise this past weekend he finished with four tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Two of his tackles came early in the game and were big-time, physical hits against the Cavaliers' receivers which sent a message for the remainder of the contest.
 
"Sometimes I miss offense because you get the ball more and can score more, but I know I honestly have much more of a defensive mentality because I feel like I'm a pretty aggressive player," Thomas said. "Some people say in college they put a lot of the best athletes on defense. I don't know, but I feel like I'm in the right spot. I like to hit and I like to be physical when I'm out there.
 
"I also feel like I have a pretty high football IQ and some of that I think is because I played D-I and there they have more time to teach you things. I also like to think that I'm a pretty disciplined player. I don't try to do things I can't or make plays for other people when they're supposed to make them. You have to do your job when you're on the field and if you do that and are patient your time to make a play will come."
 
One thing Thomas, who is majoring in psychology, isn't is a very outspoken person. Instead, he prefers to let his play on the field do his talking, but he will speak up and say something if need be.
 
"I don't speak out much because that's really not me, but during a game if I see something and feel I can tell someone something which will help them or us as a defense I will," he said. "A lot of times I'll remind the guys to do the little things like wrap up on tackles and things like that. I also constantly preach to do your job because eventually a play is going to come your way.
 
"We have a good defense here and a lot of athletes on it. We also have a lot of trust in each other. I know our linebackers can stop the run and our corners can cover the deep thirds. When you know the guys around you can all do their jobs then you can do yours and just have fun playing."
 
Right now Naiquan Thomas is having a lot of fun playing at his new home Fairmont State.