Jayden Thomas Willing To Do Whatever It Takes To Win
Jayden Thomas is going back home — kind of.
While Wednesday’s Sugar Bowl matchup won’t be played in Georgia, the Paulding County, Georgia native has close ties to the Bulldogs, giving a little extra meaning to the playoff matchup.
“It’s pretty cool,” Thomas said. “It’s my home state. I had an offer from them, so it’s pretty cool. I know a couple guys: Chaz Chambliss, Gunner Stockton, Smael Mondon. Grew up playing ball with all of them. It’s pretty cool to have the opportunity to go out there and compete against them, some childhood friends.”
The high-caliber matchup comes at a good time for the senior wide receiver, who is coming off an impactful performance in the Irish’s win over Indiana on Dec. 20. Thomas hauled in two catches for 13 yards and a big touchdown that put Notre Dame up two scores in the first half.
“It was once in a lifetime, that’s why you come to a place like Notre Dame,” Thomas said. “It’s pretty cool to catch a touchdown, just do whatever I have to do to get the team the win. It was something you only dream of.
“That was pretty cool. 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. It was pretty cool.”
Thomas’ ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience also came off the heels of one he would like to forget. He was benched after fumbling in the first half against USC.
“It was just whatever the coaches decided,” Thomas said. “That’s not up to me. Whatever the team needed, I was there to fill my role, whatever that is, cheer on my guys on the sideline, helping them out.”
The wide receiver understood the benching and instead used it as an opportunity of growth, one that clearly paid off against the Hoosiers.
“It’s just a level of trust,” Thomas said. “You can’t go out there and put the ball on the ground. Trust is a big thing. If I’m out there and I fumble, the coaches aren’t going to trust me. I’m just ready for whenever name’s gonna be called to get back out there and show the team that they can trust me again.”
While Thomas may not be stuffing the stat sheet this season, he’s continued to add value on the field through his blocking game. It’s an element in his game that was instilled in him early on in his career.
“My coach, Terrance Edwards, shout-out to him, 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.”
To go along with his touchdown, Thomas laid out a key block that set up Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run against Indiana.
“I’ve always been a bigger receiver,” Thomas said. “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. 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 have a good chance of making something special.
“It means the world. 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.”
With a backfield as dynamic and deep as Notre Dame’s, Thomas knows that a few solid blocks could mean six points for the Irish.
“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 or Aneyas [Williams], shit even Kedren [Young], they’re going to make one miss and they’re going to take it to the crib,” Thomas said. “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 also knows that it won’t be easy to take down Georgia’s SEC defense — though they do rank lower in many defensive statistical categories than in years past. The Bulldogs are 20th in points allowed and 37th in yards per play.
“We think we can compete with whoever,” Thomas said. “It's not like we have to do anything special, but it's also not like we can't not prepare. It's a fine line in between that, we have a great challenge ahead of us.
“Bottom line, whatever I gotta do to win, I'd never want to lose. I hate losing more than I like winning. being on the side of losing, I never want to do again. So after that NIU game, there's a lot of pain inflicted in us. And so we play every day just to win, whether it's win the day, win the moment, win the hour.”
There could be chances to make big plays Wednesday, both on the ground and through the air, and Thomas will be ready to do whatever he needs to do to see the Irish get another opportunity to play.
“You come out here every day, and we have one goal: go out there and win games,” Thomas said. “Especially a game like that where we’re not guaranteed another game. Whatever I can do when my name’s called, I’m definitely gonna go out there and give it my all. 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.”