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Notre Dame Transfer Receiver Jayden Thomas Commits to Virginia Football

Matthew Newton|
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Virginia strikes again with another wide receiver pickup out of the transfer portal. Notre Dame transfer wide receiver Jayden Thomas committed to the Cavaliers on Monday night (January 27) following a visit to UVA this past weekend, sources confirmed to Virginia Cavaliers On SI. Thomas, who recorded 64 catches for 838 yards and seven touchdowns in 43 games in his career with the Fighting Irish, comes to Virginia with one year of eligibility remaining.

2025 Virginia Football Schedule Revealed

A 6'2", 218-pound receiver from Paulding County, Georgia, Thomas played in 43 games over the last four seasons in South Bend, including all 16 games this season for the Fighting Irish on their run to the national title game. A highly touted high school prospect, Thomas played for current UVA defensive ends coach Chris Slade when he was the coach at Pace Academy.

Thomas played in three games as a true freshman in 2021 and then made 12 starts and played in 24 games in the next two seasons. As a senior in 2024, Thomas played in all 16 games and recorded 18 receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns, including one against Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Thomas earned his degree from Notre Dame and entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining on January 22nd. A couple of days later, it was reported that Thomas was down to just four schools and Virginia made the cut along with Virginia Tech, Auburn, and UCLA. The Cavaliers managed to close the deal with Thomas before he took visits to the other schools.

This is the second offseason in a row that Virginia nabs a transfer wide receiver from Notre Dame, as UVA added Chris Tyree before the 2024 campaign. It also completes something of a receiver trade between the Cavaliers and Fighting Irish, as Notre Dame landed Virginia's leading receiver Malachi Fields through the transfer portal last month.

Thomas is the second transfer UVA has picked up who played in the National Championship Game, as the Cavaliers also acquired Ohio State linebacker Mitchell Melton last week.

UVA is expected to bring back Trell Harris, Suderian Harrison, Kameron Courtney, Andre Greene Jr., and Eli Wood in its receiver room and the Cavaliers have already added two pass-catchers from the transfer portal in Purdue's Jahmal Edrine and James Madison's Cam Ross. Securing Thomas gives Virginia a third receiver transfer addition and an experienced pass-catcher with good size who has contributed significantly on a national championship caliber team.

The Cavaliers have now landed 10 transfers on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, as Jayden Thomas joins quarterbacks Chandler Morris (North Texas) and Daniel Kaelin (Nebraska), wide receivers Jahmal Edrine (Purdue) and Cam Ross (James Madison), running back J'Mari Taylor (NC Central), and offensive linemen Brady Wilson (UAB), Tyshawn Wyatt (JMU), Kevin Wigenton II (Illinois), and Monroe Mills (Louisville).

Virginia has landed 19 transfer commitments from the portal this offseason:

Keep track of all of UVA's transfer portal activity, including outgoing and incoming transfers, here: Virginia Football Transfer Portal Tracker

Stay up to date on all of the transfers who have received offers from Virginia or who have scheduled visits to UVA here: Tracking UVA Football's Offers and Visits in the Transfer Portal

More Virginia Football News

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Here's What We Know About the 2025 UVA Football Schedule So Far

Breaking Down How UVA Football Replaces Malachi Fields

Meet the January Enrollees From UVA Football's 2025 Recruiting Class

Virginia Football Roster Changes HQ: Hoos Staying, Hoos Going?

Virginia Football Has Top 25 Transfer Class After Latest Commitment

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Matt Newton
MATTHEW NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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