7 Things to Know About Jaymon Thomas
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 17, 2018 – A staple of USF's secondary the past two years, safety
Jaymon Thomas is primed for a standout senior season and a productive life after football.
Here are seven things to know about the veteran Bull who excels in both school and sports.
Thomas a Wuerffel Candidate
This preseason, Thomas earned a spot on the
Wuerffel Trophy watch list after making 99 tackles the past two years while playing in all 25 games (13 starts). Thomas is one of USF's three returning secondary starters and grabbed his first-career interception in USF's Birmingham Bowl victory over Texas Tech last postseason.
Before chasing his pro football dreams, Thomas wants to help the USF defense build on a strong 2017 season that saw the Bulls rank second nationally with 20 interceptions.
"It's my last go-round," he said. "I don't have any choice but to have a good year. I'm feeling pretty confident coming into the season."
Super Student
Priding himself on being a successful student, Thomas earned spots on the Fall 2017 USF Athletics Honor Roll and the 2017-18 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.
"I see (my parents) brag about me to other people," said Thomas, who graduated high school with a 3.8 grade-point average. "To them, it means the world to see their child growing up and doing big things."
Thomas brings a 3.48 GPA into his senior year and the health sciences major is on track to graduate this December.
"I'm trying to graduate with over a 3.5 in college," he said.
Thomas Has Big Plans After Football
Once he hangs up his cleats, Thomas wants to pursue a career in pharmacy after spending the summers of 2016 and 2017 interning at the USF College of Pharmacy.
"Dr. (Kevin) Sneed gave me an opportunity and I took it," Thomas said. "I got to meet people and I got to see how the pharmacy was run, it was pretty cool."
Thomas interned with teammate
Kirk Livingstone over the two summers. Both Bulls learned a lot while shadowing a real pharmacist in the professional setting.
"She had us filling prescriptions, communicating with patients, normal stuff pharmacists do throughout the day," Thomas said. "Kirk and I got an opportunity to create our own cream medicine. We were pretty hands-on when we were at the pharmacy."
Tradition of Sports in Thomas Household
Sports are a way of life in the Thomas family and it all started when the safety's parents met in the Lone Star State. Thomas' father, John, played basketball at Texas College while his mother, Tameja, was a volleyball player at the same school.
"My parents were real big athletes," Thomas said.
They were also real supportive parents, always taking Thomas with them to sporting events. Thomas often would attend volleyball practices Tameja coached and he was coached by John for most of his life growing up.
"I was always around them, even when I wasn't home," Thomas said. "My free time was with them."
Going From Quarterback to 'The Dark Side'
Growing up in Immokalee, Fla., Thomas was a promising Pop Warner quarterback and wanted to play the position going into high school. As a freshman, he switched to receiver and was always going against his father, who was a defensive coach.
"My dad finally convinced me to come to the dark side," Thomas said with a smile. "Once I got to the dark side, there was no coming back."
It's safe to say that the move to the secondary turned out quite well for Thomas, who truly enjoys playing safety as a Bull.
"You've got a lot of free range," he said. "You can roam around in the back just making plays and stopping somebody. That's my favorite part."
Former Multi-Sport Student-Athlete
Thomas was an all-state football selection at Immokalee High School who used his athleticism in other sports as well.
Aside from football, the 6-foot-3 athlete also played basketball and really enjoyed competing in all three jump events for the high school track team. Thomas took third in the triple jump at state as a senior after starting in the sport just the season before.
"I went to state for all three jumping events my senior year," he said. "I've still got that love for (track)."
Proud Immokalee Native
Thomas and several other stars of USF football's recent past, like
Deadrin Senat and
D'Ernest Johnson, all come from the same football hotbed.
Located in Southwest Florida, Immokalee is an agricultural area with a population of about 25,000 that fully support their high school football team.
"We take real pride in Immokalee," Thomas said. "Immokalee means 'your home' (in Mikasuki language). Every Friday night, the whole town comes out and supports us."
During his high school career, Thomas gave the home fans lots to cheer about by helping Immokalee win three district titles, a regional championship and post a state runner-up finish in 2012.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
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