Jemea I. Thomas (born April 7, 1990) is a former

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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. 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 ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Early years

A native of

Fitzgerald, Georgia Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County, Georgia, Ben Hill County in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, it had a population of 9,05 ...

, Thomas attended Fitzgerald High School, where he was named the 2008 AJC Class AA Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior in 2008, he rushed for 518 yards on 59 carries (8.8 yards avg) and seven touchdowns. Defensively, he had 140 tackles with three blocked field goals and four interceptions. Had Jersey retired. Considered a three-star recruit by ''

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'', he was rated as the 36th best athlete prospect of his class.

College career

Thomas attended

and played for the Yellow Jackets from 2009 to 2013. As a true freshman, he appeared in all 14 games in a back-up role, recording 10 tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass break-up. In 2010, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

due to the depth of the

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

position. In 2011, Thomas returned to action to play in all 13 games, including two starts. He recorded three interceptions, which led the team, 50 tackles, including four for loss and two sacks. In 2012, he started all 14 games, and ranked second on the team in tackles with 86, and first on the team in interceptions with four. In 2013, he played and started in all 13 games, and led the team in tackles (88) and pass break-ups (8). He also added two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Professional career

New England Patriots

He was selected by the

in the sixth round (206th overall) of the

. On May 18, 2014, the Patriots signed Thomas to a four-year deal. He was released on August 26.

Dallas Cowboys

On August 27, 2014, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. On September 1, he was cut and signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

one day later. He was released on September 16.

St. Louis Rams

On September 19, 2014, the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

signed him to the

. On October 25, he was promoted to the active roster. On October 29, he was released and re-signed to the practice squad 2 days later.

Tennessee Titans

On December 3, 2014, he was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

from the

. He was released by the team on September 4, 2015.

References

External links

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Jemea 1990 births Living people People from Fitzgerald, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football safeties American football cornerbacks Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players New England Patriots players Dallas Cowboys players St. Louis Rams players Tennessee Titans players