"I went to a ton of Tech games growing up, more than I can count," he said. " I can't say I've ever thrown a tortilla. I would go to Jones Stadium wearing my burnt orange and people would be looking at me funny."

Perhaps it was because his father, John Thomas, who is now the superintendent of schools in the nearby Frenship school district, grew up a big fan of Darrell Royal's wishbone-oriented Longhorns who dominated the college landscape in the late 1960s. Young David noticed, and when it came time to choose a college football program, West Texas-grown turned out not to be West Texas-owned.

Not surprising, it was Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach who was the first to offer Thomas a scholarship and that came in his junior year. Texas did not offer a scholarship until the following June. But making the decision to leave West Texas was a "no-brainer," according to Thomas, although he admits to wondering what might have been had he stayed in Lubbock.

Mack Brown remembers sending assistant Mike Tolleson out to Frenship to take a look at Thomas, who caught 118 passes for 2,230 yards and 35 touchdowns his final two prep seasons.

"He was a highly recruited player coming out of there," Brown said. "I'm sure they hated to see him leave, plus they didn't like us a whole lot to begin with."

Thomas, who says Saturday's game takes on added significance because the Red Raiders are ranked in the top 10, has never regretted his decision. But he is reminded of his choice whenever he visits back home.

It was Nov. 16, 2002, and easily the least fun Thomas has had at Jones. Tech's Kliff Kingsbury riddled a banged-up Texas defense for 473 yards passing and five touchdowns. Thomas did not catch a pass in a 42-38 loss.

"There were lots of fans in my face, telling me how stupid I was for going to Texas," he said. "And they said a few other things I can't repeat."

An integral part of the Texas offense the past three seasons, he will leave as one of the most productive tight ends to play here. And unlike past seasons, defenses are finding it tougher to scheme him out of the passing attack, mostly due to the emergence of a young receiving corps.

After catching only one pass at Ohio State, Thomas has been the favorite target of quarterback Vince Young the past four weeks, catching 17 passes for 206 yards. He caught five passes for 64 yards in last week's 42-17 win over Colorado and became the third tight end in school history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards, joining Pat Fitzgerald (1994-96) and Lawrence Sampleton (1978-81).

Thomas needs one more touchdown reception for 13 in his career, which would give him sole possession of the school record he shares with Fitzgerald.

An end zone visit this weekend would be his second against the Red Raiders. Since Thomas' freshman nightmare at Jones Stadium, the Longhorns have captured the last two games against Tech, including a dominant 51-21 win at Jones last season.

He still maintains steady contact with several Tech players, including senior quarterback Cody Hodges, whom he competed against when the latter was a quarterback for the Hereford High Whitefaces.

Thomas, up for the Mackey Award for the nation's best tight end, will have plenty of messages on his cell phone once he leaves the field Saturday. The question is: Will he leave the field a winner for the third straight year?

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