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On April 22, 2010, the Sixth Street Community Church in Orange, Texas was packed wall to wall, but it was unusually quiet.

The church, normally filled with the sound of uplifting gospel music, was tense this Thursday evening.

Earl Thomas III, his family and roughly 400 friends and supporters gathered in the basement of the church, where his grandfather is the pastor, to watch the 2010 NFL Draft. While nerves were high early on, it didn’t take long for the sound of praise and worship to fill the building once again when Earl was taken No. 14 overall by the Seattle Seahawks.

It was a turning point in the life of Earl Thomas III. Understanding that, ET first thanked God, rightfully so from inside His house.

“It’s not only a big day for me, but for my entire family and everybody in Orange,” Earl said. “I’d like to thank God and everyone who has helped me get here, especially all my coaches. I feel blessed.”

When the pick was announced, the supporters of the West Orange-Stark and University of Texas star erupted into cheers, electrifying one of the most emotional moments in the Thomas family’s life.

“It’s a great atmosphere – I just can’t explain it,” said Seth Thomas, Earl’s younger brother. “Everybody in Orange is supporting him right now. I just can’t believe it. He’s feeling very loved.”

[Head to Earl’s official store for exclusive ET III gear now!]

While ET and his family eventually got to celebrate following the call from the Hawks, they went into the night thinking it might come sooner. Earl was highly ranked and highly touted going into the draft, but he wasn’t the first safety taken off the board. That distinction went to Eric Berry, who was taken No. 5 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.

From there, many of the next several teams prioritized offense, with Cleveland’s Joe Haden the only other defensive back to come off the board in the Top 10. But as the draft’s first round tipped into the teens, Earl thought his time had come. The Philadelphia Eagles, in need of defensive talent, traded up to No. 13, and it seemed like a no-brainer for Philly to swipe ET off the board. But the Eagles passed in favor of Michigan’s Brandon Graham, and the tension in the Thomas family’s church grew.

“Waiting for the call was just overwhelming. We thought we were going to get the call when (Philadelphia) made the trade,” said Earl’s mother, Debbie Thomas. “I’m excited and just relieved to have this whole process over with.”

When Earl was still on the board at No. 14, the Seahawks were thrilled and quickly moved to bring in ET III to solidify the back end of their defense. Seattle also grabbed future Pro Bowl tackle Russell Okung in the first round of that draft, and Pete Carroll precisely predicted that Seattle had just brought in the foundation of its future.

“This was a big day for the organization. I’m so fired up,” Carroll said. “Two great picks, two guys that we know are going to impact the future of this club.”

Earl went on to live up to those words and then some, quickly becoming the start the Seahawks hoped he would. Since being selected with that No. 14 overall pick, he has earned four All-Pro distinctions in just five short years and of course led the league’s top-ranked defense the last two seasons, both campaigns resulting in Super Bowl berth for Seattle, including a championship in Super Bowl XLVIII.

It certainly was an enormous day for the Seahawks franchise, which had fallen in a rut.

In the two seasons before drafting Earl, they combined to go just 9-23. But they’ve gone to the playoffs four times in the five years since.

But as big as that day was for Seattle, it was an even bigger day for Earl and his family.

ET III was a standout at West Orange-Stark High School, and he earned some heavy attention from colleges across the country. He eventually elected to stay home and go to UT.

After spending one season as a redshirt, Earl quickly became a standout for the flagship university of the Lone Star State.

In his redshirt sophomore season, the then No. 12 picked off eight passes and earned Consensus All-American honors while guiding the Longhorns to an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game. After that fantastic season, his draft stock was soaring, and he decided to leave Austin for the NFL.

It was a tough decision for Earl, but one made in large part to help his family. While he was in high school, the Thomas family home was destroyed by Hurricane Rita, and ET saw his soaring draft stock as an opportunity to provide for the people who loved and supported him ceaselessly.

“That’s the first thing I want to do,” ET said. “They’ve been taking care of me all my life and it’s just going to feel good to finally take care of them for once.”

After enjoying that glorious day with his family and friends at Sixth Street Community Church, Earl looked forward to his future in Seattle, and turned his head toward knocking out his NFL dreams.

From the day he was drafted, ET laid out a plan, and it’s that  same plan that he takes into each and every game: strap on a helmet and play the game to his fullest.

“This is my dream to play in the NFL and it came true,” Earl said on draft day. “It’s still surreal right now and maybe I’ll feel it in the morning. I’m just shaking a little bit right now. I’m just ready to get out there and put the pads on and go from there.”

RELATED LINKS

• Seahawks draft Orange’s Thomas (PHOTOS) (Beaumont Enterprise, April 23, 2015)
• Thomas fills urgent need for Seahawks (AP, April 23, 2015)
• Seattle Seahawks draft Orange’s Thomas (Beaumont Enterprise, April 22, 2015)