Wide Receiver Jayden Thomas Fits Notre Dame

It’s sometimes easy to watch a special athlete’s film and simply assume that the player will make it at Notre Dame or any other big-time football program.

Then again, Notre Dame is not like just any other college football program.

That’s why Notre Dame continues to heavily pursue Atlanta (Ga.) Pace wide receiver Jayden Thomas. The talented 6-2, 205-pound athlete could play inside or outside wide receiver at the college level, due to not only his natural athleticism, but also the dedication to his craft.

Moreover, Thomas trains with Terrence Edwards, the former Georgia Bulldog and Atlanta Falcon.

This is where Thomas truly excels, and he’s one of Edwards’ best pupils.

Here’s a quick example of the articulate route running that Edwards will explain below. For a high school wide receiver, Thomas runs crisp routes. That ability will enable him to make an early impact at the college level.

During this first clip, Thomas accelerates directly towards the cornerback, eating up the cushion. When the cornerback waits too long to flip his hips and run, Thomas goes by the corner and safety, catching a post pattern just beyond the two defensive backs.

This is a case of trusting your coaching and technique. Despite two defenders, Thomas out maneuvered both players and the completion was made. The key to the entire play, the initial effort and acceleration from Thomas.

During the next video clip, Thomas bursts off the line of scrimmage, hesitates and breaks down as if he’s running a hitch or comeback, and after the cornerback bites, Thomas took off again. He blew by the cornerback, but the safety still provided a threat to knock the football away. Thomas high pointed the football and made a great leaping catch.

From start to finish, this is not the type of technique one typically sees from a high school junior. This execution resembles a college upperclassman. Well done by Thomas, and he was rewarded with a big play down the field.

Even when running good routes, sometimes defensive backs make really good plays as well. During this out pattern, the cornerback breaks on the football right along with Thomas. Despite that fact, Thomas extended for a low throw and came up with a diving reception. Not many high school wide receivers would possess the hands, concentration and route running to make this play.

Now that Thomas has been defined on the field, his wide receiver trainer, Mr. Edwards, further explains Thomas as a young man.

During an interview with Irish Breakdown publisher Bryan Driskell, Edwards talked about what type of student Thomas is in the classroom.

“They [Notre Dame] already know the type of institution that Pace represents,” Edwards stated. “They have a kid on Notre Dame’s team now in Mick Assaf. As a matter of fact, his father is the Headmaster at Pace Academy.

“So Pace is well known for its academic achievement. Jayden will already understand what it takes to do the workload. Academically, he would understand what it takes to be the best off the field.”

When it comes to Thomas making a college decision, Edwards believes that Thomas will look at top academic institutions and the specific degree program of his choice for each school he considers.

“He is going to look and see how high they are on the study of his choice,” Edwards explained. “He just comes from a good family that’s going to prioritize academics over athletics. So he already understands that is one of the main reasons they sent him to Pace (Academy). They do prioritize academics and want him to go to a strong academic institution. So, that’s going to be high up on his family’s list are the academics and whatever field of choice he decides to go into.”

When switching gears to the gridiron, Mr. Edwards helped to define Thomas’s game. When asked what teams would be concerned with when playing against Thomas, Mr. Edwards answered quickly.

“His route-running ability,” Mr. Edwards stated quickly. “When I train all the kids I train, I train all the kids to be technicians as route runners. He (Thomas) is so developed as a route runner right now because he’s had the opportunity to work with me for going on almost five years now.

“He’s an elite route runner,” Edwards continued. “I wouldn’t call him twitchy, but he’s an elite route runner. He’s a long strider, with good straight-line speed. His hand-eye coordination is good, but if you watch his tape, he’s a very good route runner.”

As far as his best attributes as a route runner, Mr. Edwards mentioned multiple facets that helped Thomas thus far.

“He’s definitely not like a Jerry Jeudy, where he puts his foot in the ground and runs stick routes. Jayden is a patient, mature route runner. What I mean by that he understands how to set defenders up. Like I said, he’s not twitchy, but he knows how to position his body and his leverage to get open. He’s very strong. 6-2, 205-pounds right now.

“So, Jayden’s very strong for his size. I would definitely say he (Thomas) understands how to set you up. He (Thomas) understands whatever coverage you play he’s going to know how to run the routes off those coverages.”

As for understanding how Notre Dame coaches its wide receivers, Edwards feels that Thomas holds an advantage because he’s been to Notre Dame already.

“He actually already went to Notre Dame (for a camp). He will already understand what they are trying to teach. I also teach a little bit more than the basics, so he can be a little bit advanced when it comes to route running.”

As an athlete and football player, Edwards explained Thomas’s strengths.

“Really, if you just watch Jayden’s film, he just makes crazy catches look routine. Jayden jumps up and high points the ball. Great hands, I mean he (Thomas) rarely drops any passes. He positions his body so that he can basically box out so the ball can come over the opposite shoulder.

“These are things that he (Thomas) practiced and trained so long that they’re routine catches for him. His hand-eye coordination is one of the best that I’ve had. He’s not a blazer, but he’s straight-line fast.”

During Part II of look at Thomas, more film analysis and more conversation with his wide receiver trainer, Terrence Edwards.

Here’s a look at Thomas’s full junior highlights.

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