But since Garden City was here, it's a huge next step. And with it being only 80 miles from Tribune, my parents could come to every game. It wasn't an easy transition. They always say defense is defense. Moving to linebacker and having to know what everybody else is doing and why they're doing it and adding those extra guys, it's just a whole new ballgame.
Nothing's the same.
Thon played quite a bit as a freshman in a reserve role, making 27 tackles. He says that experience he picked up last year has been invaluable this season. That helped me a great deal for this year, knowing how the offenses were going to block, how game-mode really was. What also has helped Thon this season is the addition of fellow linebacker Derrick Pope. He's probably the hardest hitter I've ever seen.