Jeff Thomas (born June 17, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Miami and signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2020.

Early years

Thomas attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

East St. Louis Senior High School East Saint Louis Senior High School is the only high school located in East St. Louis, Illinois. The school serves about 1,438 students in grades 9 to 12 in the East Saint Louis Public Schools district. It was featured in the Jonathan Kozol book ' ...

from 2013 to 2016.

College career

Thomas enrolled at the University of Miami on May 22, 2017, where he played from 2017 to 2019. Thomas finished with 17 receptions for 374 yards and two touchdowns his freshman season. Thomas improved on this his sophomore season, finishing with 35 receptions for 563 yards and three touchdowns, however his season was cut short when he was dismissed from the Miami team prior to week 12 after an argument with wide receivers coach

Ron Dugans Ron Dugans (born April 27, 1977) is an assistant football coach on the Florida State Seminoles and a former wide receiver who played his 4-year National Football League (NFL) career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Playing career Dugans was a sta ...

. After his dismissal from the team, Thomas looked to transfer to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

but wound up deciding to stay at Miami after head coach

Mark Richt Mark Allan Richt (born February 18, 1960) is a retired American football head coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, ...

retired on December 30, 2018. Thomas played the majority of his junior year at Miami, finishing the season with 31 receptions for 379 yards and three touchdowns, however he was suspended weeks seven and eight due to a violation of team rules. Following his junior season, Thomas declared for the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

College career statistics

Professional career

New England Patriots

Thomas signed with the

as an

in 2020. On September 5, 2020, he was waived by the team during final roster cuts.

Pittsburgh Maulers

On February 23, 2022, Thomas was drafted in the 15th round of the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

to the

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

. He was transferred to the team's inactive roster on April 22, 2022, due to a groin injury. He was transferred to the active roster on April 30. He was moved back to the inactive roster with a hamstring injury. He was released on May 19, 2022.

Birmingham Stallions

Thomas was claimed off waivers by the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their h ...

on May 19, 2022, and subsequently moved to the inactive roster the next day. He was transferred to the active roster on May 21. On March 11, 2023, Thomas was released by the Stallions.

References

External links

New England Patriots bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Jeff 1998 births Living people American football wide receivers Miami Hurricanes football players New England Patriots players Players of American football from East St. Louis, Illinois Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) players Birmingham Stallions (2022) players