Menu
Wabash-bound Eagle standout eyes NFL future
Johnathan Thibodeau has his eyes set on a career in the National Football League, and the South Putnam senior thinks Wabash College is the best place to help that dream come true.
Thibodeau signed his national letter-of-intent on Friday to play football for the Little Giants, and while he’s excited about the opportunity he’s also realistic.
Tight end Pete Metzelaars had a long NFL career after graduating from Wabash, but he was an imposing physical specimen at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds.
Thibodeau is a highly-intelligent young man who knows there aren’t many 5-foot-9, 150-pound defensive backs in the NFL — but that doesn’t deter his career goal at all.
“I want to be an NFL general manager,” said Thibodeau, who impressed Eagle coach Nathan Aker with his college player “board” of potential picks before last month’s NFL draft. “I think Wabash is going to make me a better man and give me a better work ethic. It’s really going to give me the opportunity to make my dreams come true.”
There are no fields of study directly available for such a specific career goal, but Thibodeau plans to get a major in rhetoric and a minor in business.
“The first thing that jumped out at me was the coaching staff, and the school in general,” he said. “It’s a great school. They have the No. 1 alumni network program and the No. 3 internship program in the entire country among all colleges.”
Thibodeau is not the only Putnam County grad to be heading to Crawfordsville to play for the Little Giants, as Greencastle seniors Nick Costin and Spencer Rhine (also a rhetoric major) signed earlier this month to also attend Wabash.
“I know them a little bit, and I have played against them for a lot of years,” Thibodeau said. “I look forward to getting to know them better and be able to work with those guys and call them my teammates.”
Football-wise, Thibodeau shapes up as a cornerback for the Little Giants.
Last fall, Thibodeau had 19 solo tackles and 19 assisted tackles, with two of those for losses.
The team tri-captain also had three pass deflections and one fumble recovery in earning all-county honors and honorable mention by the Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association.
Thibodeau was also selected to play in this summer’s WVFCA All-Star Game in June in Terre Haute.
He recalls not getting a lot of playing time as a freshman due to a big senior class that year, but was glad to be able to contribute the past three seasons.
“We had six or seven guys who could play corner in my first year,” he said. “My sophomore year, I worked really hard that summer and started the first half of the season before I got mono in the second half of the year.”
He also played receiver that season.
“In my junior year, I had a really good year and had three interceptions and several batted passes,” he said.
He knows the receivers in college will often be bigger than the ones he defended in high school.
“I’m going to start this summer and work in the weight room,” he said. “I’ve gone against bigger receivers [like Greencastle’s J.T. Matthews and Brown County’s Isaiah Keefauver], and I think I’ve held my own for being 5-9.
“I know I have to work on getting stronger, and keep working on my technique,” he added. “I know the coaches at Wabash will put me in the best position to be able to help them.”
Thibodeau said the Little Giants are in search of defensive backs, especially since the spread offenses frequently utilized to day force the defense to play more personnel in the secondary.
His best chance at immediate playing time, though, will likely come on special teams.
“They said they like to have freshmen to be the ‘gunners’ on punt and kickoff coverage,” Thibodeau said of the fearless individuals whose jobs are sometimes just to knock blockers out of the way of other teammates. “I did that for four years here, and they said that by having freshmen in there they are going to take it to heart more than seniors.”
Aker has no doubt that Thibodeau will be a contributor at the next level.
“He will fit in great up there,” Aker said. “He did the Division III tour around the state, and really found a fit there. He’s a great kid from a great family, and he’s worked himself into a good football player.”
Aker acknowledges that Thibodeau’s size works against him, but he makes up for it with “tremendous heart” and work ethic.
“I expect him to work just as hard at Wabash as he did here to earn a chance to play,” Aker said. “He’ll do whatever you want do , but he’s best as a pass defender.
“We could take some chances up front when you have lockdown corners like him and Jonah Sanders,” he added. “It makes calling the defense a lot easier when you have players like him.”
So can Thibodeau really be an NFL general manager someday?
“He can do anything he puts his mind to,” Aker said. “He was telling me about guys from colleges I’ve never heard of, and I heard some of their names on TV actually getting picked.”
For now, Thibodeau is concentrating on graduation later this month and also running as a member of the track team’s 4x100 relay team and hoping to advance out of next week’s sectional.
“We got a P.R. at the conference meet, and we will need to get another one to get out of the sectional,” he said. “That would be really great to accomplish that.”
The all-star game this summer will be a good chance for him to used to contact again.
“It should be a great time,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”