The Safety Net

Star safeties are usually remembered for interceptions and jarring tackles in the open field.

The No. 8 Cal football team's starting safety Thomas DeCoud, on the other hand, is known mostly for a block.

And that’s fitting, because DeCoud is not like most other NFL prospects. The sixth-rated senior safety in the country according to ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper has always had to fight hard for the spotlight.

He did, however, learn to seize it early on by turning into a special teams nightmare for opposing defenders.

Most fans that have no idea how to even pronounce his last name (DAY-coo) reminisce about the thunderous block DeCoud delivered on a DeSean Jackson punt return last year against UCLA.

DeCoud’s job was to try and block the kick—something he had done six times previously in an illustrious special teams career—but after he saw he had no chance at making it to the punter, he dropped back to help block.

Jackson took two steps away from him, as DeCoud recalls, then cut back. DeCoud said he saw Bruins freshman Korey Bosworth ahead of him and he made a bee-line for Bosworth’s shoulder, delivering a monstrous, helmet-first hit that knocked both players out momentarily.

“I was dazed, kind of woozy,” says DeCoud. “Once I got to the sideline I saw everyone just going nuts. I just got really juiced with them.”

It was one of the rare times that all of Memorial Stadium roared after seeing a block. Needless to say, Jackson sprinted home for the touchdown, even though DeCoud missed the return while struggling to regain his bearings on the field turf.

“We’ve played the hit back probably 100 times,” cornerback Brandon Hampton says. “That’s the story of Thomas’s career. He’s always been making plays, blocking field goals and blocking punts, so that play wasn’t surprising.”

Even though DeCoud is now one of the Bears’ starting safeties, his pride in his special teams play never waned.

“I don’t know if I’m going to hit a guy that hard again, but I’m still going to be going for the good shots, the kill shots,” says DeCoud.

Making sensational special teams plays is something DeCoud has grown accustomed to over the years.

While biding time behind defensive back standouts like Donnie McCleskey and Matt Giordano, DeCoud quickly found his niche.

With a 6-foot-3 frame, an impressive vertical and “ranginess,” as DeCoud likes to call it, he quickly turned heads by blocking three kicks on the road as a freshman, including one each against Arizona and Washington.

As a sophomore, he duplicated his stellar freshman campaign and blocked three more, including a punt against Oregon.

“I blocked a lot of kicks just jumping and with explosiveness off the line,” says DeCoud. “It was something I realized I was good at.”

DeCoud continued to observe those in front of him, seeing enough of the field as a sophomore to collect 28 tackles.

“It was definitely something of a mentorship,” says DeCoud. “They showed me what I needed to do.”

Part of the famed 2003 recruiting class that featured current NFL players like J.J. Arrington, Aaron Rodgers, Daymeion Hughes, Brandon Mebane and Giordano, DeCoud has now stepped into the spotlight.

A fifth-year senior, he is one of the unquestioned leaders of Cal’s defense. DeCoud began the season as one of the team’s two captains on defense, joining linebacker Zack Follett.

Everyone is singing his praises these days, from Hampton talking about how hard DeCoud has worked in the offseason, to fellow safety Bernard Hicks mentioning how DeCoud often gives him pointers in the film room.

And although DeCoud is very professional with the media and serious on the field, Hampton says that he also has a more jovial side that often goes unnoticed.

“He’s one of the team clowns,” says Hampton. “He can make funny voices and he’s always keeping us laughing. It’s fun to have someone break the silence and Thomas can do that.

“He is all business on the football field.”

He was voted the team’s most improved player last season after excelling in a starting role and also showing the versatility to play at cornerback, which he did for most of the game at USC.

“Thomas just has a knack for the ball,” says Hicks. “He’s able to run, cover a lot of ground on the back end and come down the alley and deliver the hit.”

But DeCoud still hasn't been able to snag his first career interception. The player who teammates and coaches alike have described as a ball hawk desperately wants to corral in his first pick and get a chance to display some of the offensive moves that he used as a high school receiver.

“I’m waiting for it. One’s coming, I know it’s coming," says DeCoud. "Once I get it, I know it’ll be show time.”

When that moment comes, the spotlight will be on him, and he won’t even have to fight for it.

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