Thomas Rawls

Thomas Rawls (born August 8, 1993) is an American football running back for the Michigan Wolverines football team. He has been nicknamed the "Black Beast" due to a tattoo on his left bicep that reads, "Bete noire."

Early years
As a running back for Flint Northern High School, he averaged more than 10 yards per carry, totaling 1,585 yards on 150 carries with 19 touchdowns in his senior season. He rushed for a record 358 yards and six touchdowns against Bay City Western, breaking a Flint record set by Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram. He was a unanimous All-State selection, was named Most Valuable Player in the Saginaw Valley League, and Player of the Year on The Flint Journal's All-Area Team, and was one of the most highly-recruited players in Michigan.

Commitment
Rawls committed to the University of Michigan on February 1, 2011. In announcing his commitment, Rawls said he hoped to break Mike Hart's rushing records at Michigan: "Mike Hart, he was my favorite player. Honestly, I want to play early like he did. I want to play as a true freshman running back. I know I am going to make an impact. Also, Mike Hart holds a lot of records at Michigan, and with all due respect to Mike, I want to shatter those records."

2011 season
As a freshman, he appeared in 10 games for the Michigan football team and had a season-high 73 rushing yards against Minnesota on October 1, 2011. After a good showing in his freshman season, Rawls was picked by Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com as one of five Michigan players like to surprise in 2012.

2012 season
In Michigan's spring game in April 2012, Rawls scored two touchdowns to lead the Blue team to a 17-0 victory over the Maize team.

Rawls developed a reputation as a "power back" for the Wolverines,    frequently drawing comparisons to fellow Flint, Michigan native Mark Ingram. He rushed for 90 yards against Illinois on October 12, 2012, and had a career-high 63-yard touchdown run against Purdue on October 6, 2012. After the first 11 games of the 2012 season, he was averaging 4.9 yards per carry and ranked second among Michigan's running backs with 243 rushing yards.