Miami football suspends Jeff Thomas one more game, to return vs. FSU

Miami football junior wide receiver Jeff Thomas will continue his suspension for Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh and return next week for the Hurricanes game at Florida State.

Despite being suspended for last week’s game against Georgia Tech, junior wide receiver Jeff Thomas is third on the Miami football team with 24 receptions for 270 yards and second with two touchdowns. Thomas’ two-game suspension matches the two games he missed in 2018 after reportedly being dismissed from the team.

Thomas had issues with coaches and off the field that date back to his high school career at East St. Louis, Illinois. Thomas’ suspension was for the standard violating (unspecified) team rules. There are privacy issues related to athletes that often violate athletes’ rights if it’s not information the public is privy to.

Thomas has had problems and inconsistencies on and off the field throughout his Miami football career. The junior is one of Miami’s most explosive players. Thomas had six receptions for 124 yards, two TDs eight yards rushing and 51 return yards in the Hurricanes 42-35 loss to Virginia Tech earlier this month.

Over a third of Thomas’ career receiving yards have come in four games. Thomas had three receptions for 101 yards and a TD as a freshman at North Carolina, five catches for 132 yards against LSU and five for 105 and a TD against Toledo in 2018 plus the game against Virginia Tech.

Too often, Thomas has not made an impact in the Miami offense. Thomas is a dynamic kick returner.  Senior wide receiver K.J. Osborn and junior running back DeeJay Dallas are also explosive kick and punt returners and are more than adequate filling in for Thomas as the Hurricanes primary returner when he is out.

Dallas ran a punt back 65 yards for a TD against Pittsburgh last season. He suffered a knee injury and is not guaranteed to play against the Panthers on Saturday. Dallas is expected to make the trip with the Hurricanes to the Steel City and test out his knee to see if he is able to play. Osborn had a huge punt return against Georgia Tech.

It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the season plays out with Thomas. As a junior, he is eligible for the NFL Draft. His talent is there, but will NFL teams be willing to take a chance on a player who has been extremely inconsistent on the field and frequently had issues off the field. Manny Diaz gave Thomas another chance.

Thomas had announced last offseason that he was going to transfer to Illinois after parting ways with the Miami football program. He chose to leave or was dismissed depending on if the information from Thomas or Mark Richt is what was accurate. How much can the Miami players and coaches trust Thomas going forward?