Justin Thomas (American football)

Justin Micheal Bryant Thomas (born March 15, 1994) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Georgia Tech and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He has also been a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Legends, and DC Defenders. He is now Quarterbacks Coach of the Prattville Lions.

Justin Thomas
refer to caption
Thomas in 2013
Personal information
Born: (1994-03-15) March 15, 1994
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Prattville (Prattville, Alabama)
College:Georgia Tech
Position:Wide receiver
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Thomas attended Prattville High School in Prattville, Alabama. He played football, basketball and baseball. He helped lead the Lions to win the Alabama class 6A state football championship in 2011. Rivals.com rated him as a four-star recruit in football.[1] He originally committed the University of Alabama to play college football but changed to Georgia Tech.[2] He made the change due to Georgia Tech offering him a chance to play quarterback.[3] Alabama had indicated that he would be used as a defensive back.

College career

Thomas was redshirted for his freshman season at Georgia Tech in 2012. As a redshirt freshman in 2013, he played in 10 games as a backup to Vad Lee. He completed nine of 17 passes for 131 yards and one passing touchdown and rushed for 234 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns. Thomas took over as the starter in 2014 after Lee transferred.[4][5] He went on to start all 14 games including the Orange Bowl victory against Mississippi State led by Dak Prescott. He was named the MVP of the game after he had 125 passing yards, a passing touchdown, 121 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.[6] For the season, he passed for 1,719 yards and 18 touchdowns with six interceptions and rushed for 1,086 yards and eight touchdowns. The 2015 season was one that was marred by injuries. The team finished with a dismal 3-9 record. Thomas' most notable performance of the season was against then undefeated Florida State. He rushed for a 60 yard touchdown that kept the Yellow Jackets in the game, making the score 10-13. The team moved on, and Thomas lead the way to an impressive 2016 season. He led the Yellow Jackets to wins over SEC teams Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Georgia. Thomas had a historic game against Duke, passing for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and running for 195 yards and 2 more touchdowns.[7] The team went 9-4 on the season. Thomas is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in Georgia Tech history.

College statistics
Passing Rushing
Year* Attempts Comps Comp % Yards TD Int Attempts Yards TD
2013 17952.9%13112332342
2014 1879651.3%171918619010868
2015 1807541.7%13451381454886
2016 1487953.4%1559821376046
College Career Totals53225948.7%47544018505241222

Year* 2012 – red shirt

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Thomas signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent after participating in the team's rookie minicamp as a defensive back and wide receiver.[8][9] He was waived on July 29, 2017.[10]

Los Angeles Rams

On August 3, 2017, Thomas signed with the Los Angeles Rams.[11] He was waived on August 18, 2017.[12]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 23, 2017, Thomas was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers.[13] He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was then signed to the practice squad the next day.[14][15] He was released on September 20, 2017, but re-signed six days later.[16][17] He was released on October 18, 2017, but was re-signed on November 6. He was released again on November 20 and re-signed on December 21. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 16, 2018.[18]

On August 27, 2018, Thomas was waived by the Steelers.[19]

Atlanta Legends

For the 2019 AAF season, Thomas signed with the Atlanta Legends.[20] He was waived on April 1, 2019.

DC Defenders

In October 2019, Thomas was picked by the DC Defenders as part of the 2020 XFL Draft's open phase.[21] He was released during mini-camp in December 2019.

See also

References
  1. "Rivals.com".
  2. Justin Thomas flips to Georgia Tech from Alabama
  3. "A tale of two Prattville quarterbacks -- Justin Thomas' win-win and Jalen Whitlow's quest for the right fit".
  4. "Justin Thomas takes over at QB for Georgia Tech - ACCSports.com". August 26, 2014.
  5. "Former Prattville QB starting at Georgia Tech".
  6. Clark, Ryan S. "Orange Bowl MVP Justin Thomas savors Georgia Tech win over Mississippi State".
  7. "Duke vs. Georgia Tech - Game Summary". ESPN.com. October 29, 2016.
  8. "Saints Sign DB Justin Thomas". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 16, 2017.
  9. "Justin Thomas gets his position assignment with the Saints". ajc.com. May 17, 2017.
  10. "Saints Releasing DB Justin Thomas". NFLTradeRumors.com. July 29, 2017.
  11. Lago, Kristen (August 4, 2017). "Rams Sign Two Players, Waive Laskey". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  12. Simmons, Myles (August 18, 2017). "Rams Add Defensive Depth, Sign Two Players". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  13. Varley, Teresa (August 23, 2017). "Roster moves continue for Steelers". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  14. "Steelers trim roster to 53". Steelers.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018.
  15. "Steelers announce practice squad". Steelers.com. September 3, 2017. Archived from the original on November 23, 2017.
  16. "Steelers Sign OT Jake Rodgers, Release WR Justin Thomas". SteelersDepot.com. September 20, 2017.
  17. "Steelers sign Justin Thomas, Matt Galambos to practice squad". 247sports.com. September 26, 2017.
  18. "Hilton signed to extension". Steelers.com. January 16, 2018.
  19. Varley, Teresa (August 27, 2018). "Steelers trade for Switzer". Steelers.com.
  20. Thompson, Jaylon (January 31, 2019). "Legends stock final roster with local talent and experience". WCNN. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  21. Talbot, Damond (October 16, 2019). "XFL Draft Phase 5: The Final Rounds of the Draft, Find out who was selected". NFL Draft Diamonds. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
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