Thomas Hoping to Make Most of Second Chance at UM

By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com

The season opener against Florida is looming. Then, there’s the ACC opener at North Carolina.
 
For the Miami Hurricanes, those two critical games will help set the tone for the year.
 
While junior receiver Jeff Thomas is eager to get on the field and do his part to help Miami be at its best against both the Gators and Tar Heels, he can’t help but get excited about what awaits Sept. 14 when the Hurricanes take the field for the first time this season at Hard Rock Stadium.
 
“It’s been a while since I’ve run out of that smoke,” Thomas said. “I can’t wait to cherish that moment again.”
 
Late last year, Thomas didn’t think he’d ever experience that iconic Miami moment again. In November, just days after he’d scored on a dazzling 51-yard punt return in the Hurricanes’ 38-14 win over Virginia Tech, the talented receiver was dismisssed from the program.
 
Teammates and friends, including fellow receiver Mike Harley, were stunned by his departure and the Hurricanes moved forward without the player who had, more than once last fall, shown off his exceptional speed and playmaking ability.
 
But in January, after the Hurricanes named former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz their new head coach, Thomas wondered if there might be an opportunity to start fresh at Miami.
 
Diaz wondered the same when he learned Thomas was interested in a potential return. There were, however, issues both the coach and the receiver had to resolve.
 
“I was really not aware of all the details of why he left in the first place and really what was going on, so I wanted to do my homework and see what some of the issues were,” Diaz said. “That eventually led to a phone call with Jeff to understand what some of his issues were and why he left. And the very first time we spoke, I did get a sense that he wanted to be here still. … There was still a lot of recruiting that had to be done, but the interest was always there.”
 
Before Thomas could rejoin the Hurricanes, though, Diaz wanted to know what his players thought of the idea, especially since Diaz had spent the previous fall coaching Miami’s defense and was still working on getting to know his offensive players.
 
So, the coach reached out to several Hurricanes. Overwhelmingly, he discovered, they wanted Thomas back in the locker room.
 
“I was up in North Carolina with family when I got a call from Coach Diaz and he’s saying, ‘What do you think about Jeff?’ I said to him, ‘We need that guy,'” recalled Harley, a junior who’d grown close with Thomas since both arrived in Miami as freshmen in 2017. “I just think he’s going to mature and learn from his mistakes and knowing that we had a new coaching staff, I thought ‘Jeff will be ready. Jeff will be back. He’d love to be back. This is home.'”
 
Endorsements like those prompted Diaz to open the door for Thomas’ return.
 
Since, coaches and teammates have tried to provide support and encouragement for Thomas, who despite missing Miami’s last two games of the year, still finished as the Hurricanes’ leading receiver with 35 catches for 563 yards.
 
Part of that effort has included pairing Thomas and veteran receiver K.J. Osborn, a graduate transfer from Buffalo, as roommates.
 
For Thomas, it’s been reassuring to know he has a mentor of sorts he can talk to about issues both on and off the field. And that, Osborn says, is a role he’s welcomed since joining the Hurricanes earlier this year.
 
“I think it’s really good we’re roommates. I’ve been able to grow closer with Jeff. We talk about football. We talk about other things,” Osborn said. “He’s a quiet guy, so you kind of have to get to know him a little bit, but I’m excited for him. I can’t wait to see what he does. He’s an extremely talented player and I feel like he’s more comfortable now. … I’ve talked to the guys on the team and they’ve told me about last year. They feel like they can tell he’s opened up and he feels comfortable. And he’s really working hard when he’s out there.”
 
Thomas concedes the last year hasn’t exactly been what he’d hoped. Along with his time away from the Hurricanes, there were other challenges he didn’t expect, including injury scares and limited playing time in some games.
 
But, with a new season set to begin, a new coach running the program and a new offensive coordinator in Dan Enos designing plays for him and his teammates, the receiver who has spent a fair amount of time studying Hurricanes great Devin Hester says he is determined to make the most of his second chance at Miami.
 
“I think I learned a lot. My maturity level went up and now, I know what type of position I’m in compared to a year ago,” Thomas said. “I just have to step up and do my part as a teammate and try to be a leader on the team, talk more than I did last year and I have a feeling I’ve been doing much more of that. I think I’ve grown a lot.”
 
Added Diaz, “The challenge for Jeff is learning to grow into being that guy. Instead of a guy who makes a play every couple of weeks, he needs to be that guy, really be the alpha, really be the No. 1. We want him to understand the level of consistency you need where, week in and week out, he’s the guy that other teams have to game-plan for or have a chance to get beaten by.”