Safety Skyler Thomas spent just two years with Secondary Coach Rod Chance at Oregon State University, but those two seasons were what landed the defensive back an NFL contract.
Thomas led the Beavers in tackles in both 2024 and 2025. In 2026, he signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Chicago Bears, earning a place in offseason practices to contend for a roster spot.
Chance, now with the University of Connecticut as a pass game coordinator and corners coach, remains a strong supporter – and believer – in Thomas.
“(Thomas) is probably one of the most amazing human beings you can ever be around, and I think it starts there,” Chance told the Daily Baro on Friday. “Who he is as a person, how he was raised, his core values, his work ethic, his attention to detail, his ability to be intentional in all that he does. Sometimes I feel like he’s a robot, like it’s not real, until you get around him and you see it – that’s who he is every single day.”
Thomas was one of two Beavers, alongside running back Anthony Hankerson (Miami Dolphins), to sign an NFL contract following OSU’s 2025 season.
“(NFL teams) do a great job of coming out … every single fall, getting their information,” Chance said. “Then they usually follow up with a visit during the season as well, and obviously you get those phone calls in the offseason.”
Despite Thomas putting up career years in 2024 and 2025, the Beavers went 7-17 over that span. But throughout the tough seasons, Thomas remained true to OSU.
“He knew exactly who he was, and he represented that on a daily basis,” Chance said. “And that’s rare that you get to see a young man that was not about the money, was not about the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), because he could have went other places and made more money.”
Thomas spent five years with Oregon State football in total. After playing limited snaps as a freshman in 2021, Thomas made his first two career starts in 2022, the Beavers’ first double-digit win season since 2006.
The 2023 season had high expectations, however, Thomas tore his ACL during spring camp and was sidelined for every game.
“I think, in terms of adversity, it reveals who you truly are, and the kids in the room referred to (Thomas) as the standard, because regardless of the circumstances, you know he was going to give maximum effort,” Chance said. “Leading by example was a great learning tool for those around him, and I think it made it easier for him to hold other guys accountable.”
Thomas played in all 24 games following his lost 2023 season, recording a total of 159 tackles, two interceptions, and 13 pass deflections over his final two collegiate seasons. He was named a team captain in 2025.
“You can’t substitute for how hard one plays,” Chance said. “I mean, the ability to play extremely hard on a consistent basis is difficult. Obviously, (Thomas) is a physical guy, he can make tackles. He has the ability to cover down as well. … But I think more than anything, his body has a chance to gain weight at the next level as well. I think he’ll provide value on special teams, and also have the ability to potentially be a dime linebacker, to where his athleticism shows up a bit more in coverage.”
Thomas measured in at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds with a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at Oregon State’s pro day in the spring. According to KPRC2 Houston NFL writer Aaron Wilson, Thomas met with the Bears virtually ahead of the draft.
However, Thomas’ chances of making an NFL roster in the fall aren’t a sure thing. Chicago has a total of 17 defensive backs on its offseason roster. And four of the safeties – Coby Bryant, Dillon Thieneman, Cam Lewis, and Elijah Hicks – already have a “pretty strong” chance at making the final team, Brad Biggs, the Bears columnist for The Chicago Tribune, told The Barometer.
“Skyler’s best chance to crack the roster is to make himself indispensable on special teams,” Biggs said via email. “That’s usually the path to a roster spot for backup defensive backs – become a stud on special teams. If nothing else, maybe he can play well enough to earn a spot on the practice squad and then prove himself week in and week out.”
In many ways, special teams can be more physical than playing defense, such as when players collide during punts and kickoffs. The good news for Thomas is that he enters the NFL with special teams experience despite being a key contributor to the Beavers’ defense.
“Special teams is a mindset, and you know, I think that’s part of the reason why (Thomas) is where he’s at,” Chance said. “If you look at the film and look at the tape, regardless of how many snaps he played, he was always out there taking his reps on special teams. Some of that is a credit to him having lost the (2023) season, and understanding how rare and special these opportunities are to play football … (The) selflessness that comes along with being a special teams player – that you know the details, and really, the football intellect really plays to his skill set and who he is.”
“(The Bears) are getting a smart, savvy, balls-to-the-wall player out of me,” Thomas told the Barometer after the draft.
Chicago concluded its mandatory minicamp practices on Thursday. Next up will be the team’s training camp in late July, followed by the NFL preseason in August, where roster hopefuls will get a chance to impress coaches in an in-game setting.
“It would not shock me,” Chance said regarding if Thomas could make the Bears’ final roster. “I think a lot of things that are underestimated is how well you process the game and how well you can translate that knowledge onto the grass, and I think he does an exceptional job there. And I think his skill sets and his leadership skills are contagious, and I believe that a team will want that around to develop.”
Asked if one moment from Thomas’ time at Oregon State stood out the most, Chance said he couldn’t provide just one. “There were just so many positive interactions with who Skyler is as a man,” he said. “He made me a better man, just watching the consistency, and (I was) inspired by who he was at this young age and the great things I know he’ll do with or without football.”
