SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Whether it was the result of an announcing team skimping on their pregame research or the power and toughness Jayden Thomas consistently brings to the wide receiver position, Thomas spent a game earlier in his Notre Dame football career incorrectly being dubbed a tight end on a TV broadcast.

Not insulting necessarily to the 6-foot-2 senior, whose weight at times has drifted well in the 220s, but not the statement he wants to make this season, starting with the Aug. 31 opener for the seventh-ranked Irish at No. 20 Texas A&M.

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On Thursday after practice, in the media interview area, Thomas looked like the “after” picture for a promo about what new director of football performance Loren Landow can do for you.

”I feel like ultimately at the next level and at the level I’m at right now, it doesn’t hurt to be lean, but also strong,” Thomas said of the “why” behind his transformation. “I think I gained like 8 pounds of muscle even though I lost 10 pounds from January. Gaining 8 pounds of muscle is still a huge thing.

“I’m not necessarily getting weaker, but I’m just getting slimmed out, so I can still be quicker, faster, but also staying with the same physical aspect of my game.”

Thomas said he’s currently in the 216- to 218-pound range, with the goal of playing at 212-215 when the season starts and beyond.

“Whether it’s waking up not as sore or being able to be quicker on my releases and running down the field farther,” he said. “I definitely feel it.”

He definitely is feeling the competition as well at a loaded boundary receiver position.

Clemson transfer Beaux Collins has been running with the 1s most often in recent practices. Then there’s fellow senior Deion Colzie and freshman spring surprise Micah Gilbert, who’s been encoring along those lines this fall.

Yet Irish receivers coach Mike Brown reiterated Thursday the desire to have a core rotation of no more than six receivers from an 11-receiver pool — 12 if you count former QB Tyler Buchner, repatriated from his Alabama transfer as a walk-on and double-dipping lacrosse player.

And when you start adding in the promising players at the other wide receiver positions — sophomore Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison, transfers Kris Mitchell and Jayden Harrison, to name a few — the calculus gets complicated.

But not necessarily daunting for Thomas, who was slowed much of last season with a recurring hamstring injury that limited him to just two receptions total after the Oct. 7 loss to Louisville until a rebound in the Dec. 29 Sun Bowl rout of Oregon State.

”Free [head coach Marcus Freeman] kind of says it a lot: the competitiveness at Notre Dame is unmatched,” Thomas said. “Every day, whether you're the starting quarterback or the head coach like coach Free, he’s just like us. His job is on the hot seat, too.

“He doesn’t win as many games as he’s supposed to, he can be fired, too. That’s the same with us. Ultimately, it’s competitive spirit. In the receiver room, Coach Brown preaches it. Competitiveness. You never know what’s going to happen.

“A receiver can go down or something can happen, so you might as well give it your all every day. I would say it’s your competitive nature. I feel everybody loves it. I love it — to get some knowledge from other guys where they came from and see them ball out. We can all ball out as long as we push each other.”

New offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s offensive scheme allows for more flexibility for the traditional boundary, field and slot receiver roles, and Thomas has taken some snaps in the slot while the other receivers have moved around this spring, summer and training camp as well.

“When it’s your jersey number called, you have to go out there and ball out,” Thomas said. “That’s what I’ve learned being in college. I was a true freshman and only played in like four games. When my number is called, I have to do my job, and that’s ultimately what the coaches look at. Can they trust you?”

Despite the injury-related second-half-of-the-season, Thomas still managed 21 receptions for 310 yards and two TDs over 11 games that included five starts. In 2022, he amassed 25 receptions for 362 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games, with seven starts.

His offseason evolution wasn’t limited to Landow’s strength training and team nutritionist Alexa Appelman’s advice. Among the growth opportunities was heading to Fairhope, Ala., QB Riley’s Leonard’s hometown, to work out with Leonard, Irish freshman QB CJ Carr, ND QB recruit Deuce Knight, and handful of other ND receivers and most notably, former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers.

“He’s still got it. He’s very athletic, I would say,” Thomas said of Rivers,, now retired from playing and currently coaching high school ball in Fairhope. “The knowledge of ball, the competitiveness he was telling us.

“We did this challenge in his pool. It was hold your breath, how many laps could you do. It was just us at first, and then Philip just dives into the water and does it, too. It’s pretty cool having an NFL vet like that teaching us.”

And cool being part of a seemingly resurgent receiving corps that includes actual tight ends. Last season, Notre Dame’s leading receiver was a tight end — who missed the final five games of the season with a torn ACL.

His team-leading 29 receptions were the fewest to lead the Irish in a season since wide receiver David Givens’ 25 in 2000 topped the stat sheet during coach Bob Davie’s penultimate season at ND.

“We’ve all become close,” Thomas said of the collective offseason wide receiver experience at ND. “It was Jayden Harrison, Kris Mitchell and Beaux. We all were basically hanging out at my house every day whether it was on the weekends or after a Saturday practice just doing stuff together and quickly bonding. I feel that also made us close as a whole wide receiver room, which is good.

“Confidence. It’s hard. I struggled with it as a freshman. Go in for a play and you don’t make the play, and sometimes you come out. Sometimes you don’t. It’s like a confidence thing, which is every freshman. It still happens with us today, with a senior like me.

“Remember who you are and you’re that guy. Came from a place where you were balling, so you can also do it here.”

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