Jahad Thomas

Jahad Thomas (born November 6, 1995) is a former American professional running back. He played college football at Temple University, where he earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2016. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft.

Jahad Thomas
No. 31, 34
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1995-11-06) November 6, 1995
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Elizabeth (NJ)
College:Temple
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • All-American Athletic Conference Second Team (2016)[1]
  • ECAC First Team All-Stars Maxwell Award Watch List (2016)
  • Under Armour Student-Athlete of the Week (2016)
  • Paul Hornung Award Watch List (2015)
  • First-Team All-American Athletic Conference (2015)
  • All-Star by ECAC (2015)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Thomas was born to Connie Thomas and Eddie Roberts in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Thomas was a two-sport athlete at Elizabeth High School where he played both football and basketball. Thomas captained both teams. In football, Thomas played both running back and cornerback. He played alongside his college quarterback, Phillip Walker who currently plays for the Cleveland Browns.[2]

Coming out of high school, Thomas was ranked as three-star prospect by ESPN and the fourth best running back in the state of New Jersey. Thomas also played in the North-South All-Star Football Game.

College career

Thomas decided to sign with the Temple Owls in 2013. In his freshman team with the Owls, Thomas served as the team's kick returner. He missed a game against the Army Black Knights with a knee injury. His special teams play was good enough to warrant a spot on Phil Steele's All-Conference Third-team.

During the summer before his Sophomore year at Temple, Thomas transitioned into becoming a full-time running back. He did not start in the team's first game against Vanderbilt, but led the team with 44 yards on 12 carries. Temple went on to win that game.[3] Later in the year, Thomas made his first start against Navy. His best start of the season came against Tulsa when he ran for 152 yards and caught a 20-yard touchdown, the first of his Temple career.

Thomas' best year came as a Junior. He led Temple's offense with 1,262 rushing yards, 1,677 all-purpose yards, and scored 114 points. That year, Temple went 10–4 and 7–1 in the American Athletic Conference. On October 31, 2015, College Gameday was held in Philadelphia for Temple vs. Notre Dame. Temple went on to appear in the 2015 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game and the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl.

In his final year with Temple, Thomas ran for 953 yards. He gained enough yards to move up to fourth on Temple's all-time list in total yards. [4] That year, Temple went on to win the 2016 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game, but lost in the 2016 Military Bowl against Wake Forest.

Professional career

Entering the draft, Thomas was labeled as a "Productive running back lacking in NFL-caliber size and strength but who makes up for it with his quickness and ability to help as a pass catcher and return man" by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.[5]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard splitVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 10+3⁄4 in
(1.80 m)		 190 lb
(86 kg)		 9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		4.47 s1.58 s2.62 s32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m)		116 ft 0 in
(35.36 m)		11 reps
All values from NFL Combine. {[6]

Dallas Cowboys

Thomas signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2017.[7] He was waived on July 28, 2017.

New York Jets

On August 23, 2017, Thomas was signed by the New York Jets.[8] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[9] He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 10, 2017.[10] He was released on October 18, 2017.[11] He was re-signed on December 12, 2017.[12] He was promoted to the active roster on December 30, 2017.[13] He was waived on April 14, 2018.[14]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On May 26, 2018, Thomas and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced that they had agreed to terms.[15] He was cut by the team before the season started on June 10.[16]

Memphis Express

In late 2018, Thomas was allocated to the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football.

San Diego Fleet

On January 21, 2019, Thomas was traded to the San Diego Fleet for tight end Darryl Richardson in the first trade in league history.[17] He did not make the final roster.[18]

References
  1. "Temple Owls RB Jahad Thomas Bio". Owlsports.com.
  2. "Temple Owls RB Jahad Thomas Bio". Owlsports.com.
  3. "Temple Owls beat Vanderbilt Bio". tennessean.com.
  4. "Jahad Thomas Temple Stats". Sports-references.
  5. "Jahad Thomas Temple NFL". NFL.com.
  6. "Jahad Thomas Temple NFL". NFL.com.
  7. Phillips, Rob (May 12, 2017). "Cowboys Officially Sign 13 Rookie Free Agents Leading Into Rookie Minicamp". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  8. Williams, Charean (August 23, 2017). "Jets sign Jahad Thomas, cut Jordan Todman". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  9. Lange, Randy (September 2, 2017). "Jets Reduce to 53 with 23 Player Moves". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017.
  10. Greenberg, Ethan (October 10, 2017). "Jets Sign RB Jahad Thomas to the Practice Squad". NewYorkJets.com.
  11. "Jets Sign S Harold Jones-Quartey To Practice Squad, Release RB Jahad Thomas". October 18, 2017.
  12. Greenberg, Ethan (December 12, 2017). "Jets Place QB Josh McCown on IR". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018.
  13. Greenberg, Ethan (December 30, 2017). "Jets Place RB Forté on Injured Reserve". NewYorkJets.com.
  14. Greenberg, Ethan (April 13, 2018). "Jets Waive Four Players". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018.
  15. Reimer, Will (May 26, 2018). "Blue Bombers add running back Jahad Thomas". Globalnews.ca.
  16. CFL CA Staff (June 10, 2018). "Making Moves: Tracking cuts as Sunday's Deadline Arrives". CFL.ca.
  17. Gartin, Zachary (January 21, 2019). "San Diego Fleet Take Part in First Trade in AAF History". East Village Times. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  18. Solares, Diego (January 31, 2019). "Taking a Look at San Diego Fleet's Final 52-man Roster". East Village Times. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
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