MOBILE, Ala. -- Tennessee offensive lineman Dallas Thomas has been invited to the 2013 Senior Bowl. The All-American lineman will be the 119th Vol to play in the prestigious game on Jan.
26, 2013 in Mobile, Ala. The game from Ladd-Pebbles Stadium will be televised on the NFL Network.
Thomas has been honored as a third-team All-American by CBSSports.com and a fourth-team selection by Phil Steele.
The Baton Rouge, La., native was also a second-team All-SEC pick by the Associated Press and SEC Coaches. He helped the Vols to one of the nation's top offensive lines in 2012, playing at left guard. The Vols' offensive line allowed just eight sacks, the fewest in the SEC and fourth-fewest per game (0.67) in the NCAA.
With Thomas, Tennessee racked up 475.9 yards of offense per game to rank 20th in the nation and 315.6 yards of passing offense to list 15th overall. Tennessee had five games with 500-plus yards of total offense, the most by UT since 1997. That included a school-record 718 yards of total offense against Troy.
Thomas started the final 37 games of his college career including all 12 as a left at left guard in 2012. The previous 25 came at left tackle in his sophomore and junior season.
In 2012, defensive lineman Malik Jackson played in the Senior Bowl after his career with the Vols. He went on to be drafted by the Denver Broncos.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)