SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s coaching staff benched wide receiver Jayden Thomas in the final game of the regular season.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound senior caught consecutive passes that sandwiched the break between the first and second quarters in Notre Dame’s 49-35 win over USC. But Thomas fumbled while being tackled after the second catch, and the Trojans recovered the loose ball in Notre Dame territory.
That secured Thomas a spot on the sideline while Notre Dame’s offense was on the field. Thomas, who’s averaged just under 19 offensive snaps per game this season, played a season-low seven snaps for the Irish offense against USC.
“You can’t go out there and put the ball on the ground,” Thomas said. “Trust is a big thing. If I’m out there and I fumble, the coaches aren’t going to trust me.”
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Thomas stayed ready in case the coaching staff decided to reinsert him in the game, but the Irish offense was humming without him that day. Twenty days later, Thomas delivered when given a chance to redeem himself. While playing 19 offensive snaps in Notre Dame’s 27-17 win over Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Thomas received the highest offensive grade of Notre Dame’s receivers at 79.0.
Thomas’ offensive grade was better than Jordan Faison, who led the Irish passing attack with seven catches for 89 yards. But Thomas executed his smaller role at a high level both as a receiver and a blocker. His ability to do the latter opened him up for a five-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that gave Notre Dame a 14-0 lead. Thomas pretended to set up a block on Indiana safety Bryson Bonds and instead ran around him to make himself wide open for quarterback Riley Leonard to hit him in the end zone.
“That was pretty cool,” Thomas said. “Just embracing my role. Whatever the coaches need. It was the look we wanted, and it worked. I just thank God that happened, and I got a touchdown.”
Thomas has been far from prolific as a pass-catcher for Notre Dame this season. He’s totaled 18 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He’s caught at least one pass in every game except one (Florida State) but hasn’t caught more than two passes in any game this season. Thomas’ two receptions against USC went for 22 yards. His two catches against Indiana netted 13 yards.
Notre Dame’s coaching staff keeps Thomas in the rotation in large part because he’s just as dedicated to run blocking as pass catching. Former Irish offensive coordinator Gerad Parker liked to use Thomas in different blocking roles last season. Current offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock continues to find ways to take advantage of Thomas’ size and willingness to block.
Thomas credits his high school position coach, Terrence Edwards, for forcing Thomas to understand the importance of blocking.
“He instilled early in me that if you don’t block, you don’t get the rock,” Thomas said. “I go out there. I love winning. I love winning more than I hate losing. Just go out there. Whatever the team needs, I’m gonna do what I gotta do.”
The six-yard touchdown reception by running back Jeremiyah Love against Army will be remembered for Love hurdling a defender at goal line, but Thomas helped set up the play with a key block on the outside. He influenced cornerback Donavon Platt, who ended up getting hurdled over, to get out of position by following Thomas inside to cover him, then Thomas let safety Max DiDomenico try to run through him as he prevented him from tracking down Love.
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“It means the world,” Thomas said of making a block like that. “Anytime I get to see my brothers in position to touch the end zone, celebrate, that’s what I dream of. Just seeing my guys in the end zone, I feel like everybody deserves to get a touchdown, even the linemen. If I can do anything to get them in the end zone, I’m gonna do it. I feel like that’s just the team player in me. Whatever it is for us to win, I’m gonna do it regardless.”
Thomas made an important block on Love’s 98-yard touchdown run against Indiana. After Thomas motioned to the right side of Notre Dame’s offensive line as if he were a detached tight end, he was asked to cut off defensive end Lanell Carr Jr. on the backside of Love’s designed run to the left. Mission accomplished.
“I’m strong enough to sometimes do what I gotta do maybe for two seconds to hold a block, whether it’s blocking a D-end or ‘backer,” Thomas said. “As you saw, all I did was basically a two-second block. J-Love took it 98 yards. If I can just give it my all and strain for that long, then we got a good chance of making something special.”
Notre Dame’s running backs are particularly gifted at breaking long runs. That motivates receivers like Thomas to make sure they’re keeping a defender occupied. It can make the difference between a 10-yard run and a 98-yard run. On Love’s long touchdown against Indiana, wide receiver Beaux Collins prevented cornerback Jamari Sharpe from making a play on Love before it became a sprint down the sideline.
“That’s definitely why we pay attention to blocking, just because we know if we can get our guys on the perimeter, whether that’s J-Love, JD (Jadarian Price) or Aneyas [Williams], shit even Kedren [Young], they’re going to make one miss and they’re going to take it to the crib. So, it’s important that we do our 1/11th of the job to free them guys up. Because we know that any of them have the ability to take it to the crib.”
Thomas, a graduate of Atlanta’s Pace Academy, will be seeing some familiar faces Wednesday when Notre Dame (12-1) takes on Georgia (11-2) in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal played in the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (8:45 p.m. EST on ESPN). Notre Dame and Georgia were both recruiting Thomas when the two teams last met in 2019. Now the Bulldogs have a few players Thomas knew as a young football player: quarterback Gunner Stockton and linebackers Smael Mondon Jr. and Chaz Chambliss.
“Grew up playing ball with all of them,” Thomas said. “It’s pretty cool to have the opportunity to go out there and compete against them, some childhood friends.”
Stockton, who will make his first career start for the Bulldogs, will likely have a larger role in the outcome of Wednesday’s game, but Thomas will certainly be put in a position to influence the game at some point. He’s earned that trust, though it can certainly be taken away again.
“Whatever I can do when my name’s called, I’m definitely gonna go out there and give it my all,” Thomas said. “Because that’s just what the team expects out of one another and it’s what we expect from each other. Go out there, when your name’s called, make the play.”
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