Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Thomas off to blazing start
Young receiver leads nation in yards per catch
CORAL GABLES — Though he’s 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds, Tyree St. Louis knows that one of his jobs as an offensive lineman is, once a play has developed, to try and get downfield and give his speedy teammates some help if they need it getting into the end zone.
But St. Louis can’t help but laugh a bit to himself when the teammate he watches blaze down the field is Miami Hurricanes receiver Jeff Thomas.
“I am never going to get down there fast enough,” St. Louis joked. “I’m running, hoping he catches it. Not really doubting he’s going to catch it, but hoping he catches it. I know I’m never going to get there. And every time he makes a big catch like that, I’m in awe. It’s great.”
St. Louis isn’t the only one that can’t keep pace with Thomas. Through No. 21 Miami’s first three games, few opponents have been able to catch him.
The sophomore — who was clocked a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash this year — is currently averaging an
eye-popping 27.6 yards per catch, a number that ranks No. 1 in the nation among all Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I) players.
He already owns five of Miami’s six longest plays of the year, his 67-yard touchdown catch against Savannah State currently topping that list. He returns punts and kickoffs for the Hurricanes and is averaging a team-high 178.7 allpurpose yards per game.
And then there’s the fact Thomas has a knack for making acrobatic catches, plays which generate plenty of excitement not only from the fans watching the game, but from the teammates playing in it, too.
In short, the young receiver who spent last season learning from former Hurricanes star Braxton Berrios has come into his own and as the Hurricanes (2-1) prepare for their Saturday showdown against South Florida rival FIU (2-1) at Hard Rock Stadium, the expectation is that Thomas will continue making his mark.
“We all knew he could do it. It was just a matter of his opportunity. You’re only going to play so much when Braxton’s in front of you, so, once he got his opportunity, he seized the moment,” redshirt junior receiver Lawrence Cager said. “That’s all [special teams coach Todd] Hartley says, seize the moment when your opportunity comes. He always preaches that every day and that’s what [Thomas] has been doing. We all saw it coming.”
It wasn’t always an easy wait for Thomas, though.
There were times as a freshman last year where he wondered if he’d really be able to crack into Miami’s rotation. Like any freshman, he had to learn not only the Hurricanes’ playbook, but how his team operated. Even if he’d arrived in Coral Gables as one of the nation’s top-300 high school prospects in 2016, he had to start from scratch and learn from veterans like Berrios, Cager and a former freshman AllAmerican in Ahmmon Richards.
Still, as Thomas went through the process of adjusting to the college game, he finished as the Hurricanes’ fifth-leading receiver last fall. He led the team with 22 plays of at least 20 yards and everyone got a glimpse of the kind of playmaker he could be in the future.
And after Berrios’ graduation, Thomas — who saw extensive time on kick returns as a freshman — has begun adapting to life as a punt returner. It’s a challenge he’s embracing because he knows how he can challenge opposing defenses who try to catch him.
“It gives me more space and the defense is like all over the field,” the softspoken sophomore said. “It gives me the option to go left or right.”
He’s spent time watching film of punt and kick returners to continue developing that part of his game. And this summer, after he watched videos of Patriots receiver Phillip Dorsett — a former standout at both Miami and St. Thomas Aquinas — working on his hand-eye coordination with a tennis ball, Thomas started doing the same, mimicking Dorsett’s workouts to improve his ability to track balls being thrown his way.
So far, the extra work he’s put in has paid off. But Thomas is quick to point out that not only is it early in the season, it’s early in his college career.
He’s got bigger goals to reach and more work to do.
“It’s been a good start,” he said.
(Thomas) already owns five of Miami’s six longest plays of the year.