"It’s really football country," the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Thomas said. "There is no other sports team there. Iowa is the talk of the town. Iowa football is Iowa. Everyone knows where you’re from. Everyone knows what you’re doing. Anywhere you go, you have the spotlight on because you play Iowa football. That really stuck out."

Some players like anonymity and others enjoy the attention associated with playing in a smaller town, and Thomas fell on the latter side.

"It’s definitely good. It’s definitely a plus," he said. "Everywhere you go, people stop to talk to you. You can definitely see the love these fans have for the players, for the program, and for the city.

"It went really well. It really changed my perspective on Iowa as a city, and as a program."