There’s a Little Cyclone Brewing in Stillwater : Thurman Thomas, Only 5-10, Just Might Be Second Coming of Walter Payton

There are some things in this life that Thurman Thomas cannot do.

He cannot play tailback when his feet are numb. He cannot cook, his golf game is tragic, and he can’t marry his main woman, Madonna Louise Ciccone Penn.

He wants the people at Nike to name a tennis shoe after him, a la Michael Jordan (Air Thurman would be fine, he says), but he concedes they probably won’t.

Regardless of what you might have heard from Stillwater, Thurman Thomas can’t sprint with a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound. He can’t sing in the shower without someone throwing the soap at him.

And, probably, he can’t win the Heisman Trophy. Not this year.

After three games, Thomas is second in the country in rushing yards per game (173). Sixth-ranked Oklahoma State has scored 11 touchdowns; in one way or another, Thomas has scored seven of them--five running, one throwing and another on a 58-yard punt return.

To top it off, Thomas even practiced briefly at cornerback because starter Windell Yancy was injured in OSU’s 45-10 victory over Miami of Ohio and probably will miss two weeks.

This is all quite heroic. And there is no denying Thomas’ talents, or his value to the Cowboys. But the man has a lousy sense of timing.

Barring injury, Auburn’s Bo Jackson most likely will win the Heisman Trophy this year. He is a senior, Thomas a sophomore, and in Heisman balloting that can make all the difference.

Air Thurman waits in the wings. That is reason enough, evidently, to keep the Heisman drums banging in Stillwater.

Coach Pat Jones says Thomas has a “very realistic chance of attaining the Heisman.”

Right tackle Paul Blair says if Thomas doesn’t win the Heisman, “it’s a crying shame.”

“I think he’s as good as Bo Jackson right now,” says quarterback Ronnie Williams, Thomas’ roommate.

The people in sports publicity note each time Thomas is mentioned in a major newspaper, and each week distribute an updated list of Thomas’ achievements to major media.

Thomas meets all this with a shrug and a nod. He sidesteps questions about the Heisman, and offers verbal stiffarms to those who suggest he is a serious contender for the award.

“The main thing is that we win,” he says.

The truth is that Thurman Thomas wants to win the Heisman Trophy badly. This year. It is why he has pushed his 5-10, 190-pound body to the edge, carrying 104 times in OSU’s first three games. And it’s why he sticks his neck out on special teams and practices at cornerback.

It is why Thomas and Williams gather around the television set in their room on Saturday, hoping to get a glimpse of Bo.

“He talks about (the Heisman) all the time,” says Williams, who was the starting quarterback until suffering a broken jaw against Washington. “He says, ‘If I keep up this good work, there’s a possibility.’ ”

There also is a possibility that Thomas won’t admit that to anyone carrying a pen or a tape recorder.

“I don’t like to talk about me very much,” he says.

Thomas sits in the office of running backs coach Bill Shimek. Behind him, on what Shimek calls his “Wall of Fame,” are photos of Billy Sims and David Overstreet, both of whom Shimek says he recruited while at Oklahoma.

There is a picture of Scott Verplank of Dallas, the U.S. Amateur golfing champion, and a faded newspaper clipping with the words of Walter Payton underlined in blue ink.

“It’s Payton’s definition of a perfect game,” Shimek says.

Payton, the Chicago Bears’ halfback and the top rusher in NFL history, is Thomas’ idol.

“He’s never been hurt, and he thinks practice makes perfect,” Thomas says. “I like the way he plays.” Thomas plays a lot like Payton. He is strong enough to absorb punishment, yet quick enough to avoid it most of the time.

“He changes directions like a fish,” Miami of Ohio defensive back Steve Fitzhugh said after Saturday’s game.

Thomas gained 91 yards against Miami and scored four touchdowns. He carried only 24 times. It was almost like a night off.

“On the real good running backs, you won’t see that many good hits,” said Fitzhugh. “You just want to get a piece of guys like Thomas, because if you don’t he’s gone.”

Already, Thomas has gained 519 of OSU’s 737 rushing yards. Last year, he was the only Big Eight back to gain more than 200 yards in a game, amassing 206 against Kansas State.

Thomas began last season as the fourth-team tailback, heavily recruited out of Willowridge High School in Houston, but thought to be a year away from starting.

“I thought they were going to redshirt me,” he says.

He finished the season by winning the Most Valuable Player award in the Gator Bowl, where the Cowboys defeated South Carolina, 21-14.

Now, he is the one player the Cowboys cannot lose. On a team that believes passing to be something that pickups do on the two-lane between Stillwater and Tulsa, Thomas is a marked man.

“We didn’t worry so much about their passing game,” said Dean Pees, defensive coordinator at Miami of Ohio. “We wanted to stop their running game. And you’re talking about Thomas being 90% of their running game.”

Thomas, of course, doesn’t see it quite that way. “I’m not the only one out there doing a job,” he says.

On the wall of Thomas’ dorm room, next to the inevitable Madonna poster, is a photo of Moses Malone, after a workout, sweat cutting rivers across his face, down his massive chest. It is a portrait of a working man, and Thurman Thomas says it hits him right in the heart.

“That’s what it’s all about,” he says. “You got to put in the time to be good.”

Thomas has never missed a practice at Oklahoma State and has asked out of a game only once, when he says his feet became numb from the cold.

“I couldn’t feel my legs,” he said. “It doesn’t get that cold in Houston.”

Thomas’ coaches praise his work habits and his attitude so often you expect to see a set of wings sprout from his shoulder pads.

Thomas hears the praise. He shrugs and nods. “I just work hard,” he says.

Hard work may not be enough to get him the Heisman this year; he’ll probably have to wait his turn.

But what about next year?

“I think,” Williams said, “he’d settle for that.”