How Thayer Thomas' path to top NC State football receiver began with a JJ Watt comparison

RALEIGH — Thayer Thomas remembers entering his first team meeting for NC State football five years ago as a 150-pound freshman wide receiver and gawking at the grown men who sat beside him.

Thomas had been a three-sport star at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, but the moment he saw a trio of Wolfpack linebackers and future pros — Germaine Pratt, Jerod Fernandez and Bradley Chubb — sitting in the front row, he knew he was far from ready to contribute to a college football team.

"Germaine is bald and has a beard and Jarod and Bradley are sitting there and I look the way I did," Thomas told the USA TODAY Network. "I had just started growing hair under my armpits. I was like, this isn't high school anymore."

Thomas can now reflect on a journey that began as an undersized walk-on and will end later this year as one of the most productive wide receivers in school history. Thomas has the second-most touchdown catches (22) in school history, the fifth-most receptions (182) and is in the top 10 for most receiving yards (2,143).

Against No. 5 Clemson last week, Thomas was targeted 16 times while hauling in nine catches for 84 yards during the 30-20 loss. It was a physical game that left him battered and bruised, lying in his bed until 5 a.m., wondering what he could've done differently to change the outcome of the biggest game in NC State program history.

He slept for three hours before waking up Sunday morning and beginning a weekly routine that has been the crux of his success: a massage, hot and cold tubs, steam room, meditation and extra treatment, trying to get his body ready for the next game — Saturday's 8 p.m. matchup for the No. 14 Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1) against Florida State (4-1, 2-1) at Carter-Finley Stadium.

"Thayer is unique in what he’s done here," coach Dave Doeren said. "If you really dig into his story and what he has done to his body since he got here ... he deserves all the credit for that for the time and what he does on a daily basis. He’s very unique. He’s above the one-percentile line when it comes to his work ethic."

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Earning an NC State football scholarship

Thomas redshirted in 2017, but his progress was on full display during spring ball before the start of the 2018 season. He had put on considerable muscle, grew two inches and was making plays on the field that caught the attention of the coaching staff.

He had gone home to Wake Forest for a three-week break and was sleeping late on a Saturday when his mother, Shelly shook him awake.

"Coach Doeren is on his way here, you better get dressed," she said.

Doeren pulled up in his pickup truck and gathered Thomas' entire family into the living room, including his younger brothers Drake and Lex, and officially put him on scholarship.

"The one thing I do remember from it was that he said, 'You're one of two players I've ever given a scholarship before taking a college snap. The other person is JJ Watt, so you have some big shoes to live up to,'" Thomas recalled.

Doeren had coached Watt, an All-American at Wisconsin and All-Pro defensive lineman in the NFL, during his stint as the defensive coordinator for the Badgers.

Some called it a ploy to woo his brother Drake, then a highly sought after high school senior linebacker, to NC State. But for Thomas, it was a seminal moment that has motivated him for the rest of his college career.

"I truly felt in my heart that I deserved it and had earned it," Thomas said.

Preparing to succeed

During the next two years, Thomas combined for 65 catches and six touchdowns, but the Wolfpack suffered through a 4-8 record in 2019 that caused him again to rethink his approach to football.

He decided to quit the NC State baseball team, despite being drafted by the Boston Red Sox as an outfielder in the 33rd round in 2019, and focus on his development as a wide receiver. Then the pandemic hit.

"COVID was the first time in my life that I had four to five months of no schedule and no obligations and nowhere that I needed to be," Thomas said. "I know it was a horrible time for a lot of people, but it also gave me the time I needed to really hone in on what I wanted to do and focus on the things I really wanted to focus on. It let me get back to my roots and start doing my thing."

He returned home and began creating detailed weekly workout plans in notebooks that helped track progress and push his abilities to the next level. Every day for months, Thomas woke up early and trained with his brothers, working on short-area quickness, straight-away speed, acceleration, route running, jumping and hand-eye coordination. Drake has developed into one of the best linebackers in the country for the Wolfpack, and Lex will join NC State next season at quarterback.

Thomas now has three binders worth of those workout plans, a practice he's continued.

"It was such a process, so much work," said Thomas, who is now 6-foot and weighs 195 pounds. "It takes time, you know?"

In 2020, Thomas doubled his career touchdown receptions, hauling in 42 catches for 529 yards as the Wolfpack went from four to eight wins and a spot in the Gator Bowl. Last year, he finished with 51 catches, eight touchdowns and 596 yards while NC State finished with nine wins and a top 20 ranking in the postseason AP Poll.

This season, Thomas ranks third in the ACC with 24 catches and two touchdowns and also completed a touchdown pass to running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye for the fourth passing score of his career. Thomas, though, has been the only real consistent target for Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary this season. The offense is still waiting for players like Devin Carter, Keyon Lesane, Julian Gray and Anthony Smith to share the load.

"They're going to be elite players at some point," Thomas said. "It's a process for everybody, and sometimes it takes longer for some guys to find their rhythm, but these guys are making huge strides every day."

This may be his last season with the Wolfpack, but he plans to pursue a career in the NFL — a huge leap from where he began.

"I'm going to leave it all on the line over the next six, seven games," Thomas said. "My goal is to play football at the next level, so I'm going to do everything I can to win games and put myself in the best position to do that."

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State football: What Thayer Thomas, JJ Watt have in common