After a first-half fumble, Notre Dame’s coaching staff benched wide receiver Jayden Thomas in the last regular-season game against the USC Trojans. He understands he deserved to be benched, even if he wasn’t too happy about it.
“You can’t go out there and put the ball on the ground,” Thomas told the reporters this week ahead of the regular season finale. “Trust is a major deal. “If I fumble out there, the coaches will not trust me.”
Thomas has played slightly under 19 offensive snaps per game for the Notre Dame football team this year. He had a season-low seven snaps for the Irish offense against USC.This comes after a 2023 season in which he was trying to recover from ailments. However, with his touchdown in the first round of the playoffs against Indiana, Thomas appears to be embarking on a redemption tour in his final postseason as a Fighting Irish player.
After a first half fumble, the Notre Dame football team’s coaching staff benched wide receiver Jayden Thomas in the final game of the regular season against the USC Trojans. He knows he deserved that benching, even if he couldn’t have been that happy about it.
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Thomas’ 19 offensive snaps in Notre Dame’s 27-17 win against Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff earned him the highest offensive grade among Notre Dame receivers at 79.0, according to PFF.
Thomas also helped his teammates find the end zone. The receiver had a vital block on Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run against IU. After motioning to the right side of Notre Dame’s offensive line as if he were a detached tight end, Thomas was instructed to cut off defensive end Lanell Carr Jr. on the backside of Love’s intended run to the left. Mission completed.
“I’m strong enough to sometimes do what I gotta do maybe for two seconds to hold a block, whether it’s blocking a D-end or ‘backer,” he added. “As you saw, I only did a two-second block. J-Love carried it 98 yards. If I can just give it my best and work hard for that long, we have a good chance of generating something spectacular.”
All of this indicates that Thomas appears to grasp his function. He has accepted his duty. And he might be a significant weapon for the Notre Dame football squad against Georgia. He has one more chance to win plaudits. Then we will see what occurs.
