Pierre Thomas ( American football ) Charles Pierre Thomas Jr . ( born December 18 , 1984 ) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League . Thomas led the Saints in total rushing yards in 2008 and 2009 . Early years . Pierre Thomas ' s first love was baseball and it was not until a year before high school that he picked up football . Thomas played for the Lansing Lions as a youth . Thomas lead Thornton Fractional South High School to the state semifinals as a senior and set school career rushing records of 88 touchdowns and 5 , 522 yards that also ranked in the top 10 in Illinois state history . Some of his self - taught practice for high school football included running up a steep hill with a backpack full of books on and pushing cars around . He was recruited by the University of Illinois . Pierre ' s biggest inspiration is his mother and his cousin . His hero is Barry Sanders , former running back for the Detroit Lions . College . 2003 Season . Team ' s second leading rusher with 233 yards on 43 carries . . . Caught three passes for 12 yards and returned seven kicks for 134 yards . . . Scored two touchdowns at Michigan . . . Rushed for 78 yards on nine carries in his collegiate debut vs . Illinois State , including a career - long run of 35 yards . . . Gained 70 yards on 15 carries vs . Minnesota . 2004 Season . Earned honorable mention All - Big Ten honors from the conference coaches . . . Named the team ' s Most Valuable Player . . . Led the conference in all - purpose yards , which ranked 13th in the country ( 151 . 4 per contest ) . . . Averaged 27 . 1 yards per kickoff return , which ranked third in the league and 10th in the nation . . . Became the 31st player in Illinois history to rush for over 1 , 000 career yards ( 1 , 126 ) . . . Ranked fifth in the Big Ten in rushing with 81 . 2 yards per game . . . Also had the Big Ten ' s fifth - best touchdown scoring average with 5 . 5 points per game . . . Ranks second in school history for single - season kickoff return yardage with 677 . . . Tallied a career - high 188 yards rushing on 21 carries at Michigan State . . . Had a career - long 69 - yard run - Illinois ' longest run of the season - and rushed for two TDs against the Spartans . . . His 188 yards rushing were the most by a UI player since Antoineo Harris had 195 yards vs . Purdue during the 2002 season . . . Ran for 185 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries vs . Indiana that included a 44 - yard scoring run . . . Posted his fourth 100 - yard game of the season with 131 yards against Northwestern , scoring two touchdowns . . . Had a career - high seven receptions vs . Michigan . . . Caught one touchdown and rushed for another against the Wolverines . . . Returned three kickoffs for a total of 132 yards with one touchdown vs . Western Michigan . . . Returned the game ' s opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown , which tied the third - longest kickoff return in Memorial Stadium history . . . His average of 44 . 0 yards per kick return vs . WMU was the second highest single - game performance in school history , while total of 132 yards tied the fourth highest single - game kickoff return yardage in school history . . . Had three kickoff returns for 121 yards vs . Purdue the following week , which included a 72 - yard kick return . . . Is just the second player in school history , following Harold " Red " Grange , to record two career kickoff returns over 70 yards . . . Set a UI opening - day record with 143 yards rushing vs . Florida A & M . . . Rushed for two TDs vs . FAMU . 2005 Season . Earned team award for Most Valuable Player for the second straight year . . . Also named team captain for the 2005 season as voted by the team . . . Led the team in rushing for the second straight year . . . Recorded 664 yards rushing on 127 carries , scoring five touchdowns . . . Also caught 28 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown . . . Had the team ' s longest run from scrimmage on a 35 - yard carry at Purdue . . . Ranked 10th in the Big Ten in all - purpose yards , averaging 122 . 7 per game . . . Averaged 23 . 0 yards per kickoff return to rank seventh in the league . . . Finished the season ranked 13th on the all - time Illinois rushing list . . . Rushed for 100 yards at Iowa on 15 carries , averaging 6 . 7 yards per rush , while also catching five passes for 28 yards . . . Nearly reached 100 yards in the season finale as he finished with 97 yards and a touchdown . . . Caught a career - long 52 - yard pass at California . . . Posted the third - longest kickoff return of his career with a 48 - yarder against San Jose State . . . Finished the game with over 200 all - purpose yards at Cal with 57 yards rushing , 59 yards receiving and 92 yards in kickoff returns . . . Had seven games with over 100 all - purpose yards . . . Scored the game - winning touchdown in overtime of Illinois ' season opener against Rutgers . 2006 Season . Earned honorable mention All - Big Ten honors . . . Named team captain for the second straight year . . . Also won team ' s Most Outstanding Back Award . . . Led team in rushing for the third consecutive year . . . Posted 755 yards on 131 carries for a 5 . 8 average per carry . . . Recorded 105 yards against Purdue , scoring one touchdown and also running for a season long 62 yards on one rush . . . Averaged 7 . 2 yards per carry with 8 rushes for 58 yards , including a 43 - yarder vs . Ohio State . . . Rushed for 126 yards and a TD on 22 carries against Indiana . . . Rushed for 110 yards on 18 carries at Michigan State . . . Rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries against Eastern Illinois . College Career Accolades and Statistics . Broke the school record for career kickoff return yardage with 1 , 495 yards . . . Ranks sixth on the Illini career rushing list with 2 , 545 yards . . . Ranks second on the Illini career all - purpose yardage list with 4 , 451 . . . Posted nine career 100 - yard rushing games . Professional career . 2007 Season . Going undrafted in 2007 was not how Thomas had envisioned his entry into the NFL . Regardless , he knew that hard work and determination would be the key to his success . Thomas was competing with a fourth round draft pick for the final spot on the roster in an already heavy backfield which included Deuce McAllister , Reggie Bush and Aaron Stecker . After showing star potential in the preseason , Pierre became one of only two rookie free agents to make opening day roster . Quickly becoming a fan favorite as a kick returner , Pierre was anxious to get his shot at running back . And he would , making his first career start on December 30 , in his home town of Chicago against the Bears – one of the most feared and respected defenses in the league . On a cold and windy night , with temperatures below freezing , Pierre would run for arguably one of the best performances of his career in front of his family and friends . He had 20 carries for 105 yards and caught 12 passes for 121 yards with an 11 yard touchdown , becoming the first player in New Orleans Saints history to gain more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the same game . Pierre ’ s 226 total yards from scrimmage inked him into the record books as third - highest total in team history . Through this gutsy performance with two cracked ribs , Thomas earned himself more carries for the following season . 2008 season . In 2008 , Thomas led the Saints in rushing with 625 yards on 129 carries - averaging 4 . 8 yards per carry and nine touchdowns . He also finished seventh with 31 catches for 284 yards and three touchdowns and led the team with 31 kickoff returns for 793 yards . Thomas led the team in scoring with 72 points . To some , the 2008 season was a disappointing one . The team battled injuries , the life of a football warrior . Pierre however , viewed the season as a great learning experience . 2009 season . Thomas started six games , playing in fourteen , leading the team with a career - best 793 yards on 147 rushing attempts – averaging 5 . 4 yard per carry with six touchdowns and also caught 39 passes for 302 yards with two touchdowns . The Saints jumped out to an impressive 13 - 0 start before losing the final three games of regular season . Locking in a bye for the first round of playoffs proved highly beneficial as the team was “ dinged up ” from a hard fought regular season . Thomas had bruised / cracked ribs . In the NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings , Thomas carried the ball 14 times for 61 yards along with two catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns – a 38 yard reception on a screen pass and a nine yard run from scrimmage . He was a key factor in the game - winning field goal drive in overtime . Thomas set up the drive with a 40 yard kickoff return followed by converting on a key fourth - and - one with a “ Walter Paytonesque ” leap over the top for 2 yards . The Saints played and defeated the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami . Thomas carried the ball nine times for 30 yards and caught six passes for 55 yards with a 16 yard touchdown on a screen pass in the third quarter to give the Saints their first ever Super Bowl touchdown and their first lead en route to a Super Bowl XLIV Championship . 2010 season . Thomas started in one game , playing in three gaining 146 yards on 46 rushing attempts – averaging 3 . 2 yards per carry with a long of twelve . He earned one touchdown and also caught 17 passes for 133 yards with an average of 7 . 8 and a long of 23 , and no touchdowns . The reigning Super Bowl - winning Saints started the season 4 - 3 with a Halloween Night match - up against the Pittsburgh Steelers . He injured his ankle in game three against the Atlanta Falcons .