Earl Thomas III’s journey from young athlete in Orange, Texas to become one of the best safeties in the NFL has been molded by many different factors.

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A loving family, excellent coaching and a standout stint as a Texas Longhorn set ET III up for his shining career as a Seattle Seahawk—but disaster played as big a role as his blessings.

In 2005, while Earl was a junior at West Orange-Stark, Hurricane Rita ripped through East Texas, leaving him and his family without a home. But now as he prepares to play in the biggest game of his life, ET can look back on spending a year living with his parents and his brother in a single room of a motel with a strange feeling of satisfaction.

“It was very tough. But you appreciate those struggles,” Earl said. “That’s my motto: Anytime something bad happens in my life, I always feel like something good is gonna happen. It’s very tough when you try to focus on academics and also sports when you really have a lot going on at home. But I think that’s what made my mentality so tough.”

Earl’s father described the scene when they returned to their ravaged home after Rita passed through.

“Everything was smashed in on the front,” Earl Thomas Jr. said. “Like somebody had taken a piece of house and threw it like they throw a baseball…But I tell my wife all the time, a house isn’t a house unless it’s a home.”

Immediately following the hurricane, home was a Motel 6. Eventually, the family worked to rebuild the church and house of Earl’s grandfather, Earl Sr., which became the family’s next home.

But the recovery efforts made it tough at times tough for teenage Earl III to stay focused on his dream of reaching the NFL. But thanks to the stellar support system of family and coaches, he kept working toward his ultimate ambitions.

“If you will focus on that goal, and don’t let anything deter you from that goal,” West Orange-Stark coach Mark Foreman told Earl, “then great things are going to happen for you.”

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ET learned firsthand that the devastation of a storm like Rita or Katrina could never be anticipated and as a survivor of Rita, he paid his fortunes forward, assisting in recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Earl Sr. organized a recovery project and, after fighting through the devastation caused by Rita, Earl III did everything he could to help those further down the Gulf Coast.

“People can adjust knowing something is going to happen,” Earl Jr. said. “Not knowing, coming back to a surprise, that’s pretty devastating. Something that you never would have imagined in a million years.”

That is one of the biggest lessons ET III takes from his Rita experience and applies to his efforts on the football field. Do what you can to adjust beforehand, but always be ready to adapt afterward—a skill absolutely vital for an NFL defensive back.

“Life is always gonna throw you situations that you’re not ready for,” ET III said. “It’s just about your ability to adapt. Even in football, when they throw a play that you haven’t seen all week in practice, it’s who can adapt quicker? That’s what separates us, ’cause I think we’re always talking situational football. Even in that situation, with Hurricane Rita, I had my mom and my dad. That’s all I needed.”

In an indirect way, if it wasn’t for Rita, Earl might not be playing in Super Bowl XLVIII this Sunday, his team on the cusp of a championship. And not just because of the mental toughness it taught him.

At the end of a fantastic redshirt sophomore season at Texas, ET faced a tough decision: Return to Austin and play for a national championship, or go pro. However, because of Rita, the decision wasn’t difficult. Earl needed to help his family, which was still in need of a home.

“That was one of the main reasons I came out was because of the house situation,” ET said, “There was no doubt in my mind that I was ready to play in the NFL, so I made the jump.”

A few months later, Earl was taken in the first round by the Seahawks. Since then, he has started all 70 games for Seattle.

Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas

Though mom and dad aren’t back deep in the Seattle secondary with Earl, he has a new support system: the Legion of Boom. Just like he felt the love from his family around him back in Orange, he feels it from Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and the rest of the LOB.

“That’s why this defense is so compatible with each other. It’s selfless guys,” Earl said. “We’re going to put everything on the line for each other. Love is the highest frequency we have and we understand that, and that’s what it’s all about. When you’re filled up with gratitude, it’s a genuine appreciation for everybody around you. That’s the way I love it.”

That strong bond with his teammates, along with a hurricane of adversity in his younger life, has brought Earl within reach of his goal of being a World Champion. Now all that’s left is to take it.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Earl Thomas: Never a doubt (University of Texas, Jan 30, 2014)
  • UT safety Earl Thomas finds a home in Seattle (The Dallas Morning News, Apr 23, 2010)
  • Serby’s Sunday Q&A with Earl Thomas (New York Post, Jan 18, 2014)
  • House is gone, but home will always be in Orange, Texas for Seahawks’ Earl Thomas (The Seattle Times, Sept 9, 2010)