Miami Hurricanes WR Jeff Thomas on pace for record setting season

Miami Hurricanes Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Thomas could be on his way to a record-setting 2018 season.

Thomas is off to a sizzling start in the Miami Hurricanes first three games. The Sophomore leads Miami with 11 receptions and 304 receiving yards and is tied for the team lead with two touchdown receptions through the first three weeks of the 2018 season. He also has 123 yards in kickoff returns and 90 yards in punt returns.

At his current pace, Thomas would finish the regular season with 44 receptions for 1,216 yards and eight touchdowns receiving. Thomas would add another 492 yards in kickoff returns and 360 yards in punt returns. Thomas also has one carry for 19 yards, that would put him on pace to finish with 76 yards rushing.

Those numbers would give Thomas 2,144 all-purpose yards for the season. The Miami Hurricanes record for all-purpose yards in a season was set by Willis McGahee with 2,108 in 2002.

McGahee finished that season with 1,753 yards rushing and 355 receiving. He also set the Miami Hurricanes record with 28 touchdowns in a season.

Thomas is also on pace to set the Miami school record for receiving yards in a season. The Hurricanes receiving yardage record was set in 2013 by Allen Hurns. Hurns finished that campaign with 1,162 yards receiving.

At the beginning of the season, Thomas didn’t even project as Miami quarterback Malik Rosier’s top wide receiver. Ahmmon Richards was supposed to return from an injury-filled 2017 season and earn his mantle back atop the Hurricanes receiving chart.

Richards suffered a bone bruise on his knee in the season opener against LSU and hasn’t played since. Thomas is on pace to surpass Richards record-setting output as a Freshman in 2016. Richards broke Michael Irvin Sr’s 31-year-old Miami Freshman record for receiving yards in a season.

Thomas’ pace for kick return yardage in a single season would leave him just short of the Miami record for a season. The East St. Louis Flyer alum is on pace for 852 yards combined in kickoff and punt returns in 2018. Duke Johnson had 892 yards in kickoff returns in the 2012 season as a Freshman.

Thomas’s 691 yards in kickoff returns last season was second in school history to Johnson’s record-setting 2012 season. The punt return yardage this year would be the most since Roscoe Parrish had 392 yards in punt returns in 2002.

Thomas has been explosive nearly every time he touches the ball. His 27.64 yards per reception ranks first in the nation. Players have to average one punt return per game to qualify in the national rankings. Thomas has two for 90 yards. That would also be first in the country. He is in the top 30 in several other categories.

Through the first three weeks of the season, Thomas has been the unquestioned offensive MVP for the Miami Hurricanes. When Miami is on offense or returning kicks this season with Thomas having the potential to touch the ball it’s always a must watch.