CAL POLY - By all accounts, Chris Thomas is not a typical former pro football player.

He hasn't sought a career in broadcasting or coaching. He isn't pining for his gridiron glory days.

Oh, and there's his penchant for romantic poetry.

Thomas is the proud owner of one of the most coveted pieces of jewelry in the sports world -- a Super Bowl ring, earned with the St. Louis Rams. But on Saturday, he earned something even more important to him. Before his family and friends, Thomas received his degree in English from Cal Poly, 10 years after he left school to join the San Diego Chargers.

"I would have to say that, other than getting married and the birth of my two children, this is the most exciting thing I've ever done," the 31-year-old said.

Thomas spent eight years as a journeyman in the National Football League, playing wide receiver for the Chargers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Washington Redskins, the Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs.

During that time, Thomas said he always planned to return to Cal Poly to complete the 42 units he needed for his diploma.

"I could have received my degree through the NFL extended education program," Thomas said. "But it wouldn't have been a Cal Poly degree, and that didn't sit well with me."

Thomas was raised in Ventura. Like many other young boys, he dreamed of being a professional football player.

But his mom thought football was too dangerous. Indeed it took some cajoling by him and his stepfather before she would agree to let him join the Ventura High School football team.

Thomas transferred to Cal Poly in 1991 with a full scholarship. His most memorable moment as a Mustang came in a 21-20 loss to Cal State Sacramento. Twelve years later he can still rattle off his game stats with precision -- 334 receiving yards, three touchdowns and nine catches.

"But the thing that stands out the most about that game was that we lost by a point," he said. "We tried a field goal with just seconds left, but it was blocked."

In 1993, he signed with the Chargers as a free agent.

Matthew Novak, a Cal Poly English professor, recalled that even as Thomas was catching passes and making tackles on football fields across the country, he was also laying the groundwork for his return to the university.

"He was very persistent, very hard working; he saw that goal, and he wanted it no matter what," Novak said.

Disillusioned by what he called the cutthroat nature of professional football, Thomas retired in 2001 and returned to Ventura with his wife and young son. He enrolled in classes last spring and made the 106-mile drive to San Luis Obispo twice a week.

"He's absolutely a remarkable person," said John Hampsey, who has been Thomas' friend and academic adviser for 10 years. "He is a real gentleman, kind, thoughtful, urbane, humble and polite. If all students were like Chris Thomas, Cal Poly would be a utopia."

Now that he's graduated, Thomas plans to build an athletic complex in Ventura where he will train young athletes.

But he said he will also work to ensure he is training their minds as well as their bodies.

"You need to prepare for something else, for life beyond athletics," Thomas said. "If all I do is spit out great athletes and not multi-dimensional, smart people, I'm not really doing my job."