SOUTH BEND, Ind. — One year ago, Jayden Thomas didn’t have a catch in his young college football career.
He played in only three games as a freshman and was generally considered the third-best wide receiver in his own class at Notre Dame behind Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie. Then he finished the 2022 season with the second-most receiving yards (362) and receiving touchdowns (3) and third-most receptions (25).
“My confidence definitely was at an all-time high last year,” Thomas said Friday after Notre Dame’s 14th preseason practice ahead of the season opener against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 26. “Just building off of that, I really can’t wait for this season.”
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Thomas has emerged this offseason as a leading candidate to become Notre Dame’s No. 1 receiver and a go-to target for Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Sam Hartman. It’s a role the 6-foot-2, 221-pound Thomas wants to embrace in more ways than one.
“Obviously, you want to be that guy who everybody feels comfortable with to make the big plays at the end of the game,” Thomas said. “But also, I want to be that leader for our room.
“This is the most talented I’ve ever felt like this room has been. It’s the most talented wide receivers I’ve ever played with in my life. That will to compete against each other and also bring out the best in each other, that’s what I’ve really focused on.”
The faith in Thomas was put on display last Saturday when head coach Marcus Freeman asked for the offense to pick its best receiver to score a touchdown in a goal-line one-on-one setting. Thomas stepped up and made a difficult catch for a touchdown with cornerback Cam Hart blanketed all over him.
The emergence of Notre Dame’s cornerback group as one of the strengths of the team has produced daily challenges for Thomas and his fellow wide receivers.
“We love it. We get to against, I honestly think, one of the best top five secondaries in the country,” Thomas said. “With B-Mo [Benjamin Morrison], Xavier Watts, Cam Hart and all those guys back there. It’s pretty fun. It’s challenging. We love to embrace the grind.
“Iron sharpening iron at the end of the day is what we’re doing. The ability to compete at the highest level against guys that are probably going to be in the NFL one day, it’s really fun and we love the challenge.”
That challenge can produce a good number of losses for Notre Dame’s passing game as well. At Tuesday night’s practice, Hartman struggled to stretch the field with the Irish wide receivers. He couldn’t connect with Thomas and Tobias Merriweather on multiple shots down the sideline. Some weren’t even that close to being completed.
How does that get fixed?
“Honing into the details,” Thomas said. “Whether I need to get more vertical against the defender, what type of defender it is, if he’s handsy, if he’s lengthy. Little stuff like that to focus on.”
That includes frank conversations with Hartman. He can offer advice on what the wide receiver needs to do to help him out. The wide receivers can ask for different ball placement.
Perhaps most importantly, the confidence hasn’t been shaken.
“I definitely think we’re going to be able to blow the top off of some defenses,” Thomas said. “We’re going to score touchdowns. We have a capable quarterback in Sam who has proven to do that at his previous school.”
Thomas has shown a knack for the back shoulder fade, which was used to beat Hart in the play mentioned above. It’s a throw Hartman used successfully throughout his career at Wake Forest as well. What’s required to make those catches can sometimes lead to awkward landings and at their worst unfortunate injuries.
Back in 2019, tight end Cole Kmet and wide receiver Michael Young suffered broken collarbones due to rough landings on jump balls in Notre Dame preseason practices. Thomas hasn’t been worried about trying to protect himself in those situations. He wants to prove he can make those catches.
“We’re taught see ball, go get ball,” Thomas said. “It’s not something I’m thinking about: how I land or if I get hurt. You think about that when you strap up your shoulder pads, but other than that it’s full go.”
To be a No. 1 receiver, Thomas will need to find different ways to get open for Hartman. That’s where his improvement comes into play.
Stuckey pushed Thomas to play with swagger and learn to manipulate defensive backs. The setup can make the catch that much easier.
“Gosh, he's such a developed player,” Stuckey said. “I think understanding the freedom in his route running that he can do. The things that he can do, that he has the ability to do, just kind of unlocking those things.”
As a junior, Thomas has been thrust into a leadership role with only two wide receivers older than him on scholarship: graduate senior Matt Salerno, a former walk-on, and senior Chris Tyree, a former running back. But being in the middle of those older players and a trio of freshmen pushing for playing time allows Thomas to feel connected to all of them.
They can push him in the same way he pushed them. Thomas believes that’s the best way to make sure all their talents are on display on Saturdays this fall.
“It’s definitely that competitiveness,” Thomas said. “Motivating each other day sometimes when we don’t feel like it. Even when we do, it’s not listening to the outside media, focusing on how we can get better. Whether that’s talking to Sam, watching film, getting extra recovery. It’s little stuff like that.”
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