WR Jayden Thomas Taking on Leadership Role, Embracing New Changes at Notre Dame

It’s been an offseason of adjustment for Notre Dame’s receivers. 

The unit has a new receiver coach in Mike Brown, new faces with transfers and early enrollees arriving to start their collegiate careers. 

For Jayden Thomas, it’s been a positive, as competition was needed in the room and he’s embraced taking a leadership role as one of the returning receivers. 

“I know we've got a lot of young guys, young talented guys and then guys who have been here,” Thomas stated. “We're just a tight, tight group, which is always going to be there. As kind of like the older guy, a veteran, now it's my job to keep the room close, keep everybody together and then just keep the competitive spirit in there.”

Thomas, who took on some leadership roles a year ago, values the opportunity to lead the receiver room. 

Now, Thomas is making an effort to be more vocal in all aspects of the program. 

“Last year, I was basically the vet of the group,” Thomas said. “So, just being able to always be there for guys. I would say I’ve become more vocal, more leading not only on the field, but off the field - having guys over, doing stuff to bond on the weekend and keeping the group together.”

Another focus for Thomas is his health. 

The 6-foot-2, 218-pounder missed a few games in 2023 due to a nagging hamstring injury and while Thomas understands injuries happen in football, he’s doing his best to prevent it from happening again. 

“I had a couple of injuries that made me miss some games and not able to play 100 percent last year in some games,” explained Thomas. “That's just football. Everybody gets injured. It's the most physical sport in the world. I just definitely keep in mind the extra treatment, doing the little things that nobody sees to keep me on the field.”

Thomas was well on his way to having a breakout season before the injuries as he recorded 21 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. 

The Georgia native has worked in the slot and boundary over the course of his career, but this spring, Thomas has focused on being more productive on the outside. 

“It's different,” stated Thomas. “There's not a lot of space, so just using my body in different ways, being more physical. With releases, I'm not going against smaller nickels or isolated safeties or linebackers, but most likely, the best corner is going to be in the boundary just like for us: B-MO (Benjamin Morrison) is a strong physical guy, so they put him in the boundary. So, just going against the best corner and being able to use my physical and my quickness.”

Thomas also believes the transition to Brown has been a smooth one. Brown has made significant efforts to bond relationships on and off the field, which has expedited building trust. 

“He's a great coach, great husband, great father, great guy and then he knows so much about the game that we see on film,” said Thomas. “He shows us clips of receivers he produced at Cincinnati and also just the skill set.

“He puts us through a good little workout, but it's all work that translates to not only what we're going to practice, but in games, and we see that when we go back and watch the film. He tells us what we need to work on, what we're doing well, which I think is great.”

Looking to join a Fighting Irish community and get the latest scoop? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

Under Armour Notre Dame Fighting Irish Interlocking ND Gold Rush Performance T-Shirt