Scots Old Boy, Thomas Yassmin (’17) visited The Scots College, May 2023, and spoke about his career as an international athlete and his Scots journey. In particular, he focused on how important academics have been to his success as a student and as a sportsman.
Since 2018, he has been playing American Football (Gridiron) with the Utah Utes. Beginning as someone who had never played Gridiron before, his confidence and tactical expertise have only increased over time, playing the Tight End (TE) position.
His 2022 season has been impressive. Standout moments with the Utah Utes, include: He averaged 23.2 yards per catch, scored five of his six touchdowns in the final six games, recorded a career-long 72-yard catch at Arizona State, and scored a one-yard receiving touchdown in the Rose Bowl versus Penn State (Source for the statistics: utahutes.com)
Old Boy and Development Executive, Mr Colin Scotts (’81), was the trailblazer for Scots boys to play college football and in the NFL. Director of Sport (10-12), Mr Brian Smith, was Director of Rugby when Thomas Yassmin (’17) was a student at Scots. He looks back on the sportsman:
“Thomas Yassmin was a lethal try-scoring winger in our 2016 and 2017 AAGPS Premiership winning teams. He was blessed with speed and size and, at schoolboy level, he was virtually unstoppable. Thomas represented the AAGPS and NSW Schoolboys as well as the Australian Schoolboys Barbarians in 2017.
“He was always going to draw attention from the US College Football programs. He was encouraged to look at these opportunities thanks to the Director of Sport (7-9), Mr David Todd, who has assisted a number of Scots boys to make it into American colleges.
“The Scots sports community is proud of Thomas and we look forward to witnessing his continued success on the sports field and in the lecture theatre.”
Watch Thomas Yassmin’s (’17) Nine’s Wide World of Sports interview here.
