Older and wiser is a nice term to be connected with. That is certainly the case for Jimmy Thomas, a life-long Severn resident who is now a senior linebacker for the football team at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

“It is definitely a different role as a senior,” Thomas, a graduate of Archbishop Spalding High, told Patch on Monday. “A lot of the guys on the team look up to you. You feel more comfortable every year in the system.”

That is an impressive claim for Thomas (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), who has had four different positions coaches in his four years with Holy Cross in the Patriot League.

“I can go out there and relax when I am on the field. The younger guys see me and they can relax. You have to let the game come to you,” he said.

“He has been a steady performer for us,” said head coach Tom Gilmore. “He is one of those guys who has a knack on the football field, a certain savvy and awareness. He winds up making big plays. So far this season he has continued to do that.”

Thomas started the first two games and had 15 tackles to rank among the team leaders. He did not play in the 30-22 home win against Harvard on Sept. 17 due to a sprained ankle.

The Crusaders are off this coming weekend and play Oct. 1 at New Hampshire, a team that recruited Thomas after he had already planned to attend Holy Cross. One of his Holy Cross teammates is junior offensive lineman Billy Lange, a former player at Spalding who is from Millersville.

Thomas had 10 tackles and returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in a 37-7 win over Colgate on Sept. 10. That performance gained him defensive player of the week honors in the Patriot League.

“That deals with the familiarity that our defense had with their offense they were running,” Thomas said of Colgate. “They are not going to come out and try to trick you. We had a good game plan.”

Thomas grew up playing youth football with the Green Hornets in Severna Park. He attended Monsignor Slade Academy in Glen Burnie through eighth grade and then spent four years at Spalding where he played football and lacrosse.

He was a team captain as a senior for football coach Mike Whittles at Spalding and was named to the Baltimore Touchdown Club’s Super 22 all-star team as a junior and senior.

He helped lead the team to a record of 11-0 in 2006, when Spalding won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association title. Thomas was also a member of the National Honor Society and had a grade-point average of around 4.3 in high school. His sister, Kelsie, played basketball and lacrosse at Spalding and graduated from The Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Thomas looked into several schools in the Ivy League and Patriot League and picked Holy Cross with its balance of academics and football.

“They had a strong program that would compete every year,” said Thomas, whose team won the Patriot League title in 2009. “The academics are top of the line. The alumni network that has Holy Cross has to offer was probably the final factor.”

Thomas is the son of Jim and Debra Thomas of Severn, and he said they have attended every one of his college games, most of which have been played in the Northeast part of the country.

He is majoring in economics and is on track to graduate in the spring.

“I have always wanted to return back home to the Baltimore and D.C. and get involved in government, possibly work for NSA or the Department of the Treasury,” he said.

Thomas looked into several schools in the Ivy League and Patriot League and picked Holy Cross with its balance of academics and football.

“They had a strong program that would compete every year,” said Thomas, whose team won the Patriot League title in 2009. “The academics are top of the line. The alumni network that Holy Cross has to offer was probably the final factor.”

The Patriot League is among the best in the country when it comes to combining athletics and athletics. “It is definitely a difficult thing to do with the time commitment,” said Thomas, who has a GPA around 3.0 at Holy Cross. “But our coaches definitely keep us in line and keep on top of our grades.”