Travis Booker saw it each erstwhile Jai’Den Thomas was 9 years old. Saw the imaginable arsenic a Division I moving back.
Saw what mightiness look erstwhile Thomas grew and matured.
“None of what helium has done surprises me,” Booker said. “My lad and him played Little League shot unneurotic and adjacent then, you knew. When it came to college, each Jai’Den needed was an opportunity. He wasn’t highly recruited, but helium was going to marque the astir retired of immoderate chance.
“So erstwhile (UNLV) called, I told him helium had to commit. He did and has been large ever since.”
Booker was Thomas’ moving backs manager astatine Westlake High successful Atlanta, helping the young antheral nicknamed “Jet” — possibly due to the fact that helium runs similar 1 — hole himself for beingness aft prep football. Thomas has delivered, and past some.
The Rebels unfastened grooming campy connected Wednesday nether second-year manager Dan Mullen, and it’s nary astonishment who they volition trust connected astir erstwhile it comes to those carrying the ball.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Thomas enters his elder play ranked eighth successful schoolhouse past successful vocation rushing yards (2,457) and 5th successful vocation rushing touchdowns (31).
He’s the 2nd Rebel to person 2 four-touchdown rushing games and holds the grounds for receptions successful a crippled by a moving backmost with 11.
Yep. Booker was spot on.
All that was needed: Opportunity.
“Jet continues to turn and make to go a much every-down player,” Mullen said. “Listen — my anticipation of him is to find a mode to get amended each azygous day. He’s a 1,000-yard rusher and did each these large things past twelvemonth but, hey, conscionable bash your occupation and beryllium the champion you tin beryllium each azygous day.”
It began aboriginal for Thomas, this fascination with the game.
Earlier than most.
Mom knows best
Candace Thomas is Jet’s mother, and she remembers talking with her son’s preschool teacher successful New Jersey, wherever helium was born. How the small 1 would ever beryllium moving astir the playground with a shot tucked nether his arm.
His emotion for the athletics came from his father, Kenneth, a precocious schoolhouse prima moving backmost who played assemblage shot and passed distant successful June of past year.
“Jai’Den was ever special,” Candace said. “Anything helium wanted to bash helium beauteous overmuch did. I was amazed however helium maintained aft his (father’s passing), particularly during football. He took each the lessons his Dad gave him. They were champion friends. Jai’Den stayed focused and stayed the course. Most kids mightiness not person done that, but helium did.
“The schoolhouse portion arsenic a (Business major) has gone great. He has been capable to juggle that and football. He’s focused and getting large grades and doing what needs to beryllium done. I’m arrogant of him.”
Remaining loyal
The satellite of assemblage athletics is defined by a transportation portal and what benignant of NIL deals players tin person to entice them to depart 1 schoolhouse for another.
UNLV is similar immoderate successful that it has had its stock of those leaving for specified things. Thomas easy could person pursuing past season, erstwhile helium finished with 1,036 yards and 12 touchdowns implicit 13 starts and 148 carries.
As a first-team All-Mountain West selection, helium averaged 7.0 yards per rush, which ranked 2nd nationally.
Such numbers are successful precocious request by others.
But helium remained astatine UNLV.
He remained loyal to the program.
“Just the emotion of this assemblage and being here,” Thomas said. “It’s an grant to showcase that I’m a Rebel. This was my archetypal accidental to play successful college, and that meant a batch to me. To spot the loyalty from the instrumentality base. … It’s an casual question to reply astir wherefore I stayed.”
Said Mullen: “We privation players who emotion shot and privation to beryllium coached hard and privation to beryllium developed. Just similar Jet. He gets each these calls and radical astir apt throwing each this wealth astatine him to leave, but helium sits present and says, ‘I tin execute everything I privation to astatine UNLV. I don’t person to spell determination else.’
“That shows a batch astir the squad and the subordinate and the civilization and what it’s each astir wrong this program.”
Thomas is simply a large portion of UNLV’s turnaround, 1 that has seen it station 30 wins implicit the past 3 seasons.
He arrived successful 2023 and made an contiguous impact, moving for 503 yards with a school-record freshman rushing touchdown people of 12.
He remembers his archetypal travel to Las Vegas arsenic an 18-year-old, seeing the Strip for the archetypal time, the agleam lights, eating the food, enjoying a thrust done Red Rock Canyon and viewing the Hoover Dam.
“Coming from Georgia,” Thomas said, “we don’t person that benignant of stuff.”
So helium fell successful emotion with the municipality from the beginning.
All helium needed was the accidental to marque it home.
Being recruited
Brennan Marion is the violative coordinator/quarterbacks manager astatine Colorado, the aforesaid presumption helium held nether Barry Odom astatine UNLV successful 2023, backmost erstwhile Marion heard astir a definite moving backmost from Atlanta who was garnering small involvement from colleges.
Thomas had, astatine that point, 1 offer.
From an FCS school.
“Jet was peculiar the infinitesimal helium stepped connected campus,” Marion said. “The archetypal oregon 2nd clip helium carried the shot successful autumn camp, helium went for similar a 70-yard run. When you’re a freshman astatine 170 pounds and moving done tackles successful large assemblage shot and scoring 12 touchdowns, you’re a truly pugnacious kid.”
Marion remembers astir the no-nonsense attack of Thomas’ parents, of his father’s New Jersey-toughness, of however impressed the manager was with their son’s like-minded attitude. Thomas was a superior benignant who wanted to enactment from the outset.
“We started this happening astatine UNLV that truly helped america crook things astir wherever kids practiced connected their ain similar 3 days a week,” Marion said. “Ricky White, Jacob De Jesus, Hajj-Malik Williams. Jet was among those guys. He had his ain drills. Kids similar that who travel a blueprint ne'er astonishment me. Doing everything extra. Jet came to my bureau each the clip asking questions. He was ever trying to go the best.”
Marion calls Thomas a diamond successful the rough. UNLV learned astir him precocious successful the process erstwhile Thomas’ precocious schoolhouse manager called Marion, who instantly watched movie connected the player.
The Rebels already had an adjunct — past moving backs manager Cornell Ford — successful Atlanta recruiting.
“I told him, ‘Go and spot this Jet Thomas kid, and if he’s taller than 5-7, connection him.’”
The remainder is history.
Getting better
The shot portion has conscionable gotten amended and amended arsenic the seasons determination forward, and it’s evident Thomas has worked to go a much all-around player.
He caught 39 passes past twelvemonth for 237 yards and a score. He is proving amended and amended erstwhile thrown to retired of the backfield and successful space. That’s wherever the Jet portion comes into play.
“I’m biased, but I deliberation he’s the champion moving backmost successful the country,” said UNLV antiaircraft backmost Mumu Bin-Wahad. “He’s a poised guy. A batch of things marque him large — his vision, his speed, his strength, his alteration of absorption successful the unfastened field. I emotion going against him each time successful practice.
“He’s ever retired determination connected the field, moving retired with a trainer oregon by himself. He decidedly loves the crippled and our program.”
So excessively agrees the guys blocking for Thomas.
“It’s awesome,” halfway Austin Boyd said. “He makes america look truthful good. His talent, his quality to marque radical miss. As agelong arsenic we get a chapeau connected a hat, Jet is going to marque peculiar things happen.”
He has been doing truthful for a portion present and those closest to him saw it acold earlier helium arrived astatine UNLV.
He didn’t cognize what to expect erstwhile stepping connected field to a programme that had mislaid for truthful long, fewer remembered erstwhile Rebel shot elicited galore affirmative vibes.
But helium wouldn’t perceive of specified things.
“To beryllium honest, I didn’t travel present reasoning it would beryllium a hard situation,” Thomas said. “I was conscionable a kid trying to larn and beryllium blessed that I was here. But, yeah, winning is ever better. Who doesn’t privation to win? Nothing similar it brings retired that joyful feeling.
“It conscionable brings much substance to the fire.”
He has lit things up arsenic a Rebel.
A loyal one.
Contact Ed Graney astatine egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney connected X.
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