Loves ‘Star Wars,’ 49ers’ Solomon Thomas does
The scouting report on Solomon Thomas: Powerful as an edge rusher; quick off the snap; able to lift X-wing fighters from swamps with his mind; handy in a dangerous cantina.
At one point in his life, Thomas thought the last two qualities were true.
“Having a lightsaber, having make-believe powers that might be real,” he said of his youth. “It was awesome.”
It seems fitting on May 4 – also known as Star Wars Day – to point out the 49ers’ first-round pick isn’t just a Star Wars fan. He’s a Star Wars junkie, an early devotee who had his mother paint his face like Darth Maul for Halloween, who when he got a little older sent George Lucas notebooks with ideas and suggestions for future films and who as an adult has mastered the vocal art of roaring like Chewbacca.
When Stanford held a team outing to go see “The Force Awakens” in 2015, Thomas not only hosted a video of the trip, he dressed up as a Jedi and spoke in Yoda-like rhythms throughout the excursion.
Loves Star Wars, Thomas does.
In fact, he and defensive end Ryan Anderson – who spent some time with the 49ers last year – were the only members of the team in costume. Were they embarrassed?
“No, we planned it,” Thomas said.
So which are his favorite films? Anyone over 40 might be disappointed in his response. But remember, he turned 21 just 4 1/2 months ago. And thank goodness his answer didn’t include Jar-Jar Binks.
“I love – I know the old Star Wars fans are going to hate this – I do love Episode III,” Thomas said last week. “I love the new ones that came out. ‘The Force Awakens’ was great. I thought ‘Rogue One ‘was amazing, too. My favorite of the old ones is ‘A New Hope’ ”
Oh, did Lucas ever respond to his notebooks full of ideas?
“Send back, did he not,” Solomon says in the video he made for Stanford.
Matt Barrows: @mattbarrows, read more about the team at sacbee.com/sf49ers.
This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 8:54 AM.