Photo by: Hunter Overholt
Different Paths Led ‘Jacks Duo to San Antonio
7/25/2025 10:00:00 AM | Football
For senior quarterback Sam Vidlak and senior defensive lineman Ky Thomas, differing collegiate football journeys have led both to what could be a memorable final season
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – With the dust settled in the Alamo City and a bow firmly and successfully tied on the Southland Conference's Opening Drive, Stephen F. Austin football's attention turns to fall camp and an ever-decreasing countdown to the 2025 season opener against Houston on August 28.
High expectations surround the program, both inside the locker room due to the return of a talented, veteran-laden group and the addition of key transfers up-and-down the two-deep, and outside Nacogdoches as the Lumberjacks were picked to a second-place finish, while receiving three first-place votes, in the SLC preseason rankings.
For graduate defensive lineman Ky Thomas and classmate quarterback Sam Vidlak, both beginning the final season of their respective collegiate careers, different, but equaling rewarding paths, led the duo to representing the 2025 'Jacks in San Antonio.
Thomas, no stranger to life in east Texas as a native of Elkhart, started his football journey at an early age and soon began to balance his love for the pigskin with his passion for rodeo. It wasn't until his sophomore year of high school that his exploits on the gridiron began to catch the eye of college coaches.
"I love to play the game, but, I mean, I'm from a real small town, and you're kind of forced to play everything," noted Thomas. "On top of that, I had the passion of rodeo. And so, I rodeoed all growing up…I mean, that's what I was set on. I wanted to go to college and rodeo."
However, the opportunity to play at the next level was something that Thomas could not pass up. "I just thought, man, I can always go back to rodeo if this doesn't work out, but you don't get a second chance to play college football."
It's safe to say that it has "worked out" for the fifth-year senior who for his career has played in 39 games entering the '25 season and has collected 69.0 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss (54), and 4.5 sacks (36). Additionally, the Texan has been responsible for 15 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
However, Thomas' career has come with its own form of adversity, from taking time to adjust to the college game, having multiple coordinators and position coaches, being unsure of his ability as a true freshman and to even stepping away from the program for a season. "I mean, when I came in out of high school, I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know how I was supposed to come off the line and hit the guy. So, pretty much I was a newborn baby when I got to college, and I think just being coachable and understanding how the process is going to work, it's really molded the way that I've approached the game and just college football as a whole. It's never going to be perfect and the main takeaway that I have had from this whole experience is to just roll with the punches."
In May 2023, Thomas graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management degree in just three years. That timing, in addition to dealing with injuries and other on-the-field difficulties, led Thomas to want to try "something new" and he got the chance to "go out and work and get real world experience."
But when the game calls you back, you always pick up. "It left a hole. I had lost that competition aspect of my life," said Thomas. "I was working when Coach Carthel came and approached me a year later. They told me there was two guys in suits looking for me, and I thought I was going to have to run out the back door. But luckily, it was just Coach Carthel checking in on me. He presented the opportunity for me to come back and play. I knew I couldn't wait 10 years...I needed to take advantage of the opportunity that I was given with the gifts that I have been blessed with, knowing that I don't think I would have been able to be happy with myself down the road, knowing that I left some in the tank."
With his final ride as a Lumberjack looming, Thomas shared what he's looking forward to the most this season and what makes the 2025 Lumberjacks so special. "I want to have a heart of gratitude and just cherish every moment. I have a great group of guys around me, and I'm looking forward to going to war with them every Saturday." He added, "It makes it more special when you have a group of guys around you that push you and hold you accountable and really make you want to elevate your game that much further."
The dream to play college football started early for Vidlak who got his first taste of the gridiron as a second grader in the Pacific Northwest. Years later as a freshman, who believed in his ability to throw the football, Vidlak began reaching out to college coaches to help make his dream a reality. "I always felt like I was able to throw the football really well," noted the signal caller. "After my junior year, I had grown and had had a good year, and it was then that I realized I would have an opportunity to live out my dream." As a senior, Vidlak was tabbed a three-star quarterback by both 247 Sports and Rivals.com with the former tagging him as a top 20 pro style quarterback in the country.
A native of Applegate, Oregon and an All-State quarterback and infielder at Hidden Valley HS, Vidlak's collegiate career began in his home state. He spent the 2021 season at Oregon State where he made his collegiate debut against Idaho, saw action in three games during the 2022 season at Boise State and played in seven games for Montana in 2023. It wasn't just the opportunity to settle in as a starter that made SFA feel like home, but it was the people who helped impact his decision to venture down to the Piney Woods.
"I felt it was a great fit. My wife loves it here. I love it here. I love these coaches," noted Vidlak. "I'm not just saying this, but I truly have [developed] lifelong relationships with a lot of these coaches on the staff. I honestly didn't expect I would have as close of relationships with these guys or any coaches in college. From the start, I just had a really good feeling about the people here."
While the relationship-building aspect of joining the 'Jacks reeled him in, the scheme is what sold him. "I feel like it's a perfect match [the scheme and his skillset]. I felt like my skill set and what I'm good at would really flourish in this offense. I just feel like it was a really good fit on the life part of how your life is going to fit in and the people you're going to be with and then the football part. It's hard to find a fit in both of those aspects and to be able to do that here is something I'm really thankful for, absolutely."
Flourish, he has. Vidlak tossed for 2,387 yards on 174-of-257 passing and 27 TDs in 2024 and led the SLC in passing efficiency (177.3), completion percentage (67.7), points responsible for/game (18.0) and yards per attempt (9.29) which helped him earn SLC Newcomer of the Year honors and become a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. Despite a collarbone injury that forced him out of the final three games of his debut season in Nacogdoches, Vidlak was a healthy participant in spring practice and summer OTA workouts. When asked about the adversity that he has faced in his collegiate career, the seasoned passer delivered an impactful response and how his multiple stops have helped him focus in on the process.
"I think the college football journey, and especially the quarterback journey, is filled with adversity, and you get both ends of it, the highs and the lows. I think that a lot of those adverse situations that I've had in the past are things that I am really thankful for now in hindsight, and, you know, they shaped my mindset, and that's something that's really evolved a lot in college," shared Vidlak. "I had to learn how to channel it [his mindset] the right way, and to really changing my mindset to where now I'm just focused on the things that I can control, doing those to the best of my ability. I'm not focused on results and worrying about that. It's just all about the process and truly enjoying each day. I'm trying to glorify God in my career and my actions. And if I do that and work my hardest, then I truly believe whatever the outcome is, then that's what God had for my life."
Vidlak, already a preseason All-American by FCS Football Central, looks forward to cherishing his final season with his teammates and to making the most of the opportunity that the 2025 team has. He added that a big difference from year one at SFA to year two is that "we didn't really know what we had going into last year" but that the 'Jacks will lean on "camaraderie and chemistry" this fall.
"I do feel like we have a different mindset than a lot of other teams. A lot of other teams sit there, and they say, "we're going for this," "we're trying to win this," and they lose sight of what's right in front of them. I think our mindset has been, "hey, let's simplify this. What can we do today to be the best version of ourselves?" And if we keep stacking those days like that then I do believe we have a really good shot to look up and be in a great position."
On Monday afternoon during SFA's media session in San Antonio, seventh-year head coach Colby Carthel mentioned what it was like to have Thomas and Vidlak on his team and leading the Lumberjacks. "They're fantastic. I'm fired up and honored to be their coach. They make my life a whole lot better, and these two committed to finishing their careers as Lumberjacks, so I've slept a whole lot better this offseason with these guys coming back."
The 'Jacks are all the way back in just over a month as SFA makes a short jaunt into H-Town for a season-opening showdown with the Cougars.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Season tickets for the upcoming SFA Football season are on sale now, offering the best value for a six-game home slate. Don't miss a single snap as SFA battles through a thrilling Southland Conference schedule. Visit SFATickets.com to secure your season tickets today and be part of the action all season long.
FOLLOW THE LUMBERJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA football, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Lumberjacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
High expectations surround the program, both inside the locker room due to the return of a talented, veteran-laden group and the addition of key transfers up-and-down the two-deep, and outside Nacogdoches as the Lumberjacks were picked to a second-place finish, while receiving three first-place votes, in the SLC preseason rankings.
For graduate defensive lineman Ky Thomas and classmate quarterback Sam Vidlak, both beginning the final season of their respective collegiate careers, different, but equaling rewarding paths, led the duo to representing the 2025 'Jacks in San Antonio.
All gas, no brakes??#AxeEm x #EastTexasTough pic.twitter.com/GGBMaSYHp0
— Lumberjack Football (@SFA_Football) July 23, 2025
Thomas, no stranger to life in east Texas as a native of Elkhart, started his football journey at an early age and soon began to balance his love for the pigskin with his passion for rodeo. It wasn't until his sophomore year of high school that his exploits on the gridiron began to catch the eye of college coaches.
"I love to play the game, but, I mean, I'm from a real small town, and you're kind of forced to play everything," noted Thomas. "On top of that, I had the passion of rodeo. And so, I rodeoed all growing up…I mean, that's what I was set on. I wanted to go to college and rodeo."
However, the opportunity to play at the next level was something that Thomas could not pass up. "I just thought, man, I can always go back to rodeo if this doesn't work out, but you don't get a second chance to play college football."
It's safe to say that it has "worked out" for the fifth-year senior who for his career has played in 39 games entering the '25 season and has collected 69.0 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss (54), and 4.5 sacks (36). Additionally, the Texan has been responsible for 15 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
However, Thomas' career has come with its own form of adversity, from taking time to adjust to the college game, having multiple coordinators and position coaches, being unsure of his ability as a true freshman and to even stepping away from the program for a season. "I mean, when I came in out of high school, I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know how I was supposed to come off the line and hit the guy. So, pretty much I was a newborn baby when I got to college, and I think just being coachable and understanding how the process is going to work, it's really molded the way that I've approached the game and just college football as a whole. It's never going to be perfect and the main takeaway that I have had from this whole experience is to just roll with the punches."
Yee haw ?? @kythomas2020 #AxeEm x #EastTexasTough https://t.co/1Xw9z4l1Ts pic.twitter.com/DmTDPuPg80
— Lumberjack Football (@SFA_Football) July 22, 2025
In May 2023, Thomas graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management degree in just three years. That timing, in addition to dealing with injuries and other on-the-field difficulties, led Thomas to want to try "something new" and he got the chance to "go out and work and get real world experience."
But when the game calls you back, you always pick up. "It left a hole. I had lost that competition aspect of my life," said Thomas. "I was working when Coach Carthel came and approached me a year later. They told me there was two guys in suits looking for me, and I thought I was going to have to run out the back door. But luckily, it was just Coach Carthel checking in on me. He presented the opportunity for me to come back and play. I knew I couldn't wait 10 years...I needed to take advantage of the opportunity that I was given with the gifts that I have been blessed with, knowing that I don't think I would have been able to be happy with myself down the road, knowing that I left some in the tank."
With his final ride as a Lumberjack looming, Thomas shared what he's looking forward to the most this season and what makes the 2025 Lumberjacks so special. "I want to have a heart of gratitude and just cherish every moment. I have a great group of guys around me, and I'm looking forward to going to war with them every Saturday." He added, "It makes it more special when you have a group of guys around you that push you and hold you accountable and really make you want to elevate your game that much further."
THE 'JACKS.??
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) July 21, 2025
??Press conference now LIVE ?? https://t.co/QzrQTxVklS pic.twitter.com/c2rPZT4OAj
The dream to play college football started early for Vidlak who got his first taste of the gridiron as a second grader in the Pacific Northwest. Years later as a freshman, who believed in his ability to throw the football, Vidlak began reaching out to college coaches to help make his dream a reality. "I always felt like I was able to throw the football really well," noted the signal caller. "After my junior year, I had grown and had had a good year, and it was then that I realized I would have an opportunity to live out my dream." As a senior, Vidlak was tabbed a three-star quarterback by both 247 Sports and Rivals.com with the former tagging him as a top 20 pro style quarterback in the country.
A native of Applegate, Oregon and an All-State quarterback and infielder at Hidden Valley HS, Vidlak's collegiate career began in his home state. He spent the 2021 season at Oregon State where he made his collegiate debut against Idaho, saw action in three games during the 2022 season at Boise State and played in seven games for Montana in 2023. It wasn't just the opportunity to settle in as a starter that made SFA feel like home, but it was the people who helped impact his decision to venture down to the Piney Woods.
"I felt it was a great fit. My wife loves it here. I love it here. I love these coaches," noted Vidlak. "I'm not just saying this, but I truly have [developed] lifelong relationships with a lot of these coaches on the staff. I honestly didn't expect I would have as close of relationships with these guys or any coaches in college. From the start, I just had a really good feeling about the people here."
"I've been at 100% for a while." - @SamVidlak7#AxeEm x #EastTexasTough pic.twitter.com/cbCCX2H0qj
— Lumberjack Football (@SFA_Football) July 22, 2025
While the relationship-building aspect of joining the 'Jacks reeled him in, the scheme is what sold him. "I feel like it's a perfect match [the scheme and his skillset]. I felt like my skill set and what I'm good at would really flourish in this offense. I just feel like it was a really good fit on the life part of how your life is going to fit in and the people you're going to be with and then the football part. It's hard to find a fit in both of those aspects and to be able to do that here is something I'm really thankful for, absolutely."
Flourish, he has. Vidlak tossed for 2,387 yards on 174-of-257 passing and 27 TDs in 2024 and led the SLC in passing efficiency (177.3), completion percentage (67.7), points responsible for/game (18.0) and yards per attempt (9.29) which helped him earn SLC Newcomer of the Year honors and become a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. Despite a collarbone injury that forced him out of the final three games of his debut season in Nacogdoches, Vidlak was a healthy participant in spring practice and summer OTA workouts. When asked about the adversity that he has faced in his collegiate career, the seasoned passer delivered an impactful response and how his multiple stops have helped him focus in on the process.
"I think the college football journey, and especially the quarterback journey, is filled with adversity, and you get both ends of it, the highs and the lows. I think that a lot of those adverse situations that I've had in the past are things that I am really thankful for now in hindsight, and, you know, they shaped my mindset, and that's something that's really evolved a lot in college," shared Vidlak. "I had to learn how to channel it [his mindset] the right way, and to really changing my mindset to where now I'm just focused on the things that I can control, doing those to the best of my ability. I'm not focused on results and worrying about that. It's just all about the process and truly enjoying each day. I'm trying to glorify God in my career and my actions. And if I do that and work my hardest, then I truly believe whatever the outcome is, then that's what God had for my life."
The whole crew ??#AxeEm x #EastTexasTough pic.twitter.com/ROTuu7l2P5
— Lumberjack Football (@SFA_Football) July 21, 2025
Vidlak, already a preseason All-American by FCS Football Central, looks forward to cherishing his final season with his teammates and to making the most of the opportunity that the 2025 team has. He added that a big difference from year one at SFA to year two is that "we didn't really know what we had going into last year" but that the 'Jacks will lean on "camaraderie and chemistry" this fall.
"I do feel like we have a different mindset than a lot of other teams. A lot of other teams sit there, and they say, "we're going for this," "we're trying to win this," and they lose sight of what's right in front of them. I think our mindset has been, "hey, let's simplify this. What can we do today to be the best version of ourselves?" And if we keep stacking those days like that then I do believe we have a really good shot to look up and be in a great position."
On Monday afternoon during SFA's media session in San Antonio, seventh-year head coach Colby Carthel mentioned what it was like to have Thomas and Vidlak on his team and leading the Lumberjacks. "They're fantastic. I'm fired up and honored to be their coach. They make my life a whole lot better, and these two committed to finishing their careers as Lumberjacks, so I've slept a whole lot better this offseason with these guys coming back."
The 'Jacks are all the way back in just over a month as SFA makes a short jaunt into H-Town for a season-opening showdown with the Cougars.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Season tickets for the upcoming SFA Football season are on sale now, offering the best value for a six-game home slate. Don't miss a single snap as SFA battles through a thrilling Southland Conference schedule. Visit SFATickets.com to secure your season tickets today and be part of the action all season long.
FOLLOW THE LUMBERJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA football, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Lumberjacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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