Signed | Four-Star WR Jayden Thomas

WR Jayden Thomas‍ 

Ranking
ISD: 90 – 4-Star
Composite: 89.9 – 4-Star

Vitals
6-2, 205
Pace Academy (Atlanta, Georgia)

Recruiter
Del Alexander

Recruitment Rundown
Notre Dame has recruited scholarship players from Pace Academy for years, but despite the similarities between the two institutions, the Irish had yet to land one…until Thomas.

From the start, there were signs that Thomas could be the one. He took a visit to South Bend in November of 2019 and left with an offer in hand. From that point forward, it was clear the Irish would be a major factor in his recruitment, consistently being mentioned as a contender and easily making the Top 5 he released in July along with Georgia, Arkansas, Michigan and Penn State.

By the time Thomas got the green light to play baseball in South Bend, it became clear he would be doing just that.

Thomas went public with that announcement on Oct. 2nd.

Pace Academy Head Coach Chris Slade
“He just works extremely hard, very coachable, smart, definitely a team guy first. I’ll put him at DB if I need to, at safety, I can play him at d-end in some situations. He can punt. He never complains, never gripes. He’s obviously a phenomenal athlete, big-time baseball prospect as well, explosive, deceptively fast, long-strider. He can really make a big difference. He’s definitely a program-changer.

“His athletic ability obviously speaks for itself, but his character ranks him above a lot of kids that I coached. Not that I coached a lot of bad kids, but his character really stands out.”

ISD Expert Jamie Uyeyama
Thomas’ ceiling is hard for me to pinpoint based on what I’ve seen because I like his ball skills, toughness, and size. He’s a coordinated athlete who can run and I’m always a fan of multi-sport athletes (baseball) who also play multiple positions on the football field. He hasn’t specialized yet so there should be a lot of room for growth.

I think he has the potential to be a starter for Notre Dame and potentially a quality number two option at receiver. I could see Thomas playing the boundary or playing “X” for Notre Dame. He’s also a big skill athlete who could project to safety or possibly even Rover. It’s an intriguing addition because of his position flexibility.

Favorite ISD Quote
“(Landing the offer) was crazy in the moment because it’s Notre Dame. You see them playing on TV every Saturday and knowing I could potentially go to school there is pretty cool.”

Junior Highlights