Coach | 2024 NJ DL Jordan Thomas Offers Versatile, Athletic Presence

Dan Sabella isn’t exactly sure what the future looks like for Jordan Thomas‍, but the head coach at Don Bosco Prep is sure the 2024 New Jersey defensive lineman’s future is bright.

“He's a phenomenal kid,” Sabella says of Thomas. “He's got a great personality. He's a great teammate, upbeat guy.”

Thomas already has dozens of offers from many of college football’s premier programs, including Notre Dame, Georgia, Florida, Penn State, Michigan, Texas A&M and many others.

“He's such a big man, big presence,” Sabella says. “He's got a basketball background. He was really a dual-sport kid coming out of eighth grade. He just continues to get bigger. His arm span and his height. I think he's every bit of 6-6 now, he's pushing 300 pounds. That combination of athleticism and explosiveness and that kind of size, I think is what's so attractive to so many people.”

What Sabella isn’t certain of is what position Thomas will end up playing.

“Depending on where his body goes and what kind of shape,” he says. “I think 295, he's a little bigger than we want him to be right now to consistently play on the edge 40, 50 snaps a game. Obviously, it's the pre-season right now. I think that's TBD if you know what I mean? Part of it is he's just growing, right? He's just getting bigger physically. If he ends up being 310 pounds, obviously he's going to move inside.”

But for now, Sabella is excited about what Thomas will bring to the Ironmen.

“At that size, he can line up on the edge and to be a pass rushing threat as well as a mismatch for a tight end or an h-back or something like that,” he says. “We feel like we can move him around. He can play three-technique. He can play five-technique. He can play 4i, so he's pretty multidimensional in that regard.

“And like I said, it creates mismatches. He's coming off the edge with that kind of length and that kind of is explosiveness is what you look for.”

It’s early, but Notre Dame will be an appealing choice for Thomas, according to his head coach.

“Absolutely,” says Sabella. “He's starting to educate himself and he understands the value of the education. I think he's excited about what the new coaching staff is doing and the direction the program's going in. It's certainly a place he's going to take a hard look at.”

Marcus Freeman, Al Washington, Al Golden and the rest of the Notre Dame staff have already made an impact with top coaches across the Garden State, including Sabella.

“They've had a strong presence with us and I'm sure a lot of schools in our area. They've been real personable. They've made it a point to get in here a bunch of times. Can't say anything but positive things about what they've been doing with reaching out to our guys.”

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