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G^^*Ŏ,ڧ1WKbI ڹ}:kV mvvΒH VeFuS(ƠԴM \mݰ1Yoc4Վy0y%&:+V/'ҹO?[SܯVzQ5kPn`" Oj%8tN=sUF例nZ) `sqM1u+'r`b}&P*&'?JsϽ]ҭ~٨E Rk (|@TP? 6^$㝧uZ6 ;}+[NU1wQU\0)4#1nH8];SBHDn )٢;n{&r}1fkM6OD#dXF;iOv]FF3i溚IF2OkՔYj"X ̳G3 /Ri\v*j-ww$2w1:=6XB9f8,t[ʜm);- )IqvBI#kЮaҮmY$`\ nO_ xy%馔w4gsRu- "|ߴFL ԟʰ5&Bp)J8<DthjQS]z^B6=yia=[P7Mktʁ>#ֵS꺔I˅o?^O>[~it[pcw\To7lR@#{M6۱ y15 )i 2U},6ds߹-t`ϵb93Sxuߝ$L{+ہq{+c5'0$5e-_ʼ`ā ~5]8jA؍J>9NL\ThHV*ɑ ձ_DyZH]w/o6i0H8MLm=)qQҸWsXbvT=sh y*VJ 9#qTN1c4*GO Y$d?U-ij4ʡ~-QOD$v !oi]8ڝdE'cZhN ǽfO*?K˒]@^w7 S,Q3!ElZ\, ;:Y[IG>IOēCyY<z'B1y P9ɫ?xT%SOjC5'8ri!~n HKn- NHgn*^kwu\>dnqAQDxQsZPZwoS!IJ9u R@a#E4^Z }Ҧ c4TEhh+l%Ƽ vvmp9nZ0W< <ĻAfTjiTԭKva9@#@{rkG_<8X8]w.5=kF|YY6#eϽ\UI7# gc" r1+1kA™) ,y9v676G$q*`ߴ+ 2 f\nQԁɠsJˣ` }+I C# cZk\L}嘎R-" In 1996, Adalius was named to the Sporting News Freshman All-America team as well as the Conference USA All-Freshman team. Last year as a sophomore, he came within one sack of tying the school single-season record with nine sacks. His great leaping ability helped A.D. knock down 10 passes at the line of scrimmage. He also led the conference in tackles. In the Liberty Bowl victory, A.D. was named as Defensive Player of the game. This great season culminated in being also selected to the first team Conference USA Defense.<br>This year Adalius Thomas received some early recognition by being named to several pre-season All-American teams. During this past year, A.D. worked hard to continue to improve. He gained a little weight but lost some fat. His Bench improved from 330 to 375 pounds, the Parallel Squat from 400 to 490 and his Power Clean went from 275 to 315 pounds. This increase in power and strength also manifested itself in a vertical jump improvement from 36 inches to 39.5 inches. His standing long jump also improved from 9' 8 to 10' 1 feet.<br>Adalius improved his flexibility and with his speed and power increases, this combined improvement was the reason his 40-speed came down from 4.72 to 4.60, 20-speed from 2.74 to 2.58 and his pro-shuttle time from 4.68 to 4.48.<br>Adalius takes football and life seriously. He looked me in the eye,  I have never used drugs in my entire life. My father taught me about the harmful effects of drugs. I have seen what drugs have done to others. Peer pressure is only the pressure you put on yourself. You must be strong with no doubt. Say  no' like you are sure of yourself then people will let you alone. If you sound weak, they will keep on you. When I have kids, I want to be able to look them in the eye and say that I have never done drugs. I feel a deep responsibility to be a positive role model.<br> I also believe that without God there is no me or you. I believe in God 100 percent. I'm not as good as I should be but I'm better than I used to be. I like the ten commandments. If you keep them, then everything else falls into place. <br>We thank Coach Dudley and Coach Bowers. The University of Southern Mississippi is on the rise. With players like Adalius it is easy to understand. We thank Adalius for his great example. He is playing his song. His light is shining brightly. <br> <br>USM FOOTBALL<br><br>The University of Southern Mississippi football is on the rise. USM clinched a winning season in1994 with a thrilling season ending victory at LSU and the 1995 team posted consecutive road wins for another winning season. Then in 1996, Coach Jeff Bower guided his Golden Eagles to an 8-3 record and a share of the brand new Conference USA Championship. Last year, USM finished in sole possession of the Conference USA Crown, defeated Pittsburgh 41-7 in the Liberty Bowl and had a final national ranking of No. 19 in both polls.<br> Coach Bower stated,  I think we've improved a lot. We are getting kids like Adalius who want to work hard, want to get a good education, want to win and want to be unselfish. We have a solid nucleus of players who represent our University in a first class way.<br> There are only five programs in Division I-A who finished in the