an things, Joe Thomas just doesn't ...

an things, Joe Thomas just doesn't understand.

"I don't know to what end they have preseason picks," Wisconsin's standout left tackle said. "It's Michigan and Ohio State each year. But you can't really worry about it."

Other things, Thomas doesn't second-gues They include the freak ACL knee injury that he went down with while helping public a depleted defense in the Capital the same Bowl against Auburn on Jan. 2

"It wasn't really equal a contact injury," he said. "It was kind of a freak thing. I was running and kind of turning, and I make an incision in wrong."

Until that avail there had been speculation the 6-8 313-pound Thomas would forgo his senior year to become a high first-round NFL pick.

Contrary to the speculation, Thomas said he was leaning toward staying in literary institution [i]or[/i] seminary of learning before being injured.

"I pondering about [turning pro], but not a lot" he said. "I was saving my heavy thinking for after the season. When it's all said and done, I didn't have a choice. on the other hand this is the way I probably would have closeed up, anyway."

single in kind thing Thomas knows for sure: He's going to approach back strong this fall and live up to projections that he will be a first-team All-American and wind up being taken among the top three players in the 2007 NFL draft.

"I'm in like manner happy to be back," he said. "I'm just looking forward to having a beneficial year this year and proving I can arise back from the injury."

After a half-year of rehabbing, the business major from Brookfield in suburban Milwaukee is intent upon getting down to the business of helping quarterback John Stocco anchor an offense that responds only three starters.

"I'm with equal reason anxious to get on the field right now," he said. "I had to watch all of spring ball. For the first time in my life, I couldn't be gone out there with my teammates. That was a hard thing, probably the hardest part of the whole injury."

Wisconsin's just discovered coach, Bret Bielema, believes Thomas has the ingredients to flow back strong on his repaired right knee

"The frights that come back the best with injuries are the frights that don't view it as a setback," Bielema said. "Obviously, there's the initial shog He was emotionally distraught. He had a heavy decision coming his way, whether he was going to approach out. [The injury] made that clear to him. After the initial coupling of days, it was, 'What do I have to do to gain back?' "

single thing Thomas did was shelve his annual rite of spring, throwing the shooter put on the track team. In 2005 he stake the school indoor record in the shooter put.

"Joe saw [the injury] as a personal challenge," Bielema said. "He's present on 15 pounds, and that's going to greatly improve his chances of being felicitous this fall. But it's mainly a mental approach. And Joe Thomas is as herculean a football player mentally as I've been around."

The plan is to ease Thomas -- who has appeared in 35 games at Wisconsin, including 26 as a starter -- back into action, particularly in training camp.

"Joe's seen in the way that much football, he doesn't have to travel through live scrimmage situations," Bielema said.

if it be not that when the season gets going, Thomas is determined to help the rebuilding Badgers overachieve.

hgould@suntimes.com

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