Jemea Thomas’ gift and passion for football have been entirely obvious to those who have watched Georgia Tech practices in recent seasons. As Tech’s season ascends to its peak, those traits have become more broadly evident.
Following productive performance in limited opportunities, culminating in his playmaking frenzy in Tech’s upset win over Clemson on Oct. 29, Thomas likely will see the field even more when the Yellow Jackets face Virginia Tech on Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“I may not have a lot of brains, but I’ve got good eyes,” defensive coordinator Al Groh said. “I can see what he did.”
Thomas, a sophomore defensive back, is receiving rewards for his patience, shown first during a redshirt season last year and then waiting his turn on the sidelines through this year.
“It hasn’t been hard [waiting] because they had me on special teams,” Thomas said. “That’s something I just took to the core, like I wanted to do my best on.”
Those around Thomas remark on his appetite for football and team-first attitude, qualities he shares with others in Tech’s talented secondary.
“Coach [Paul Johnson] could go ask him to climb the wall at the stadium, and he’d go out there and do it to the best of his ability,” linebacker and team captain Steven Sylvester said. “He’s just that kind of teammate.”
Because of his heavy involvement on special teams, Thomas rarely takes a break during practice. He even occasionally takes snaps with the defensive scout team, Groh said.
Thomas “never really seems to get tired,” Groh said. “He just loves being on the field and doing whatever he can.”
His joy for the game was tested last season, when Johnson made the unusual decision to redshirt Thomas even though he had played as a freshman in 2009. The redshirt had both football and academic components, as Thomas was in a long line of defensive backs vying for playing time and needed to catch up in his studies.
“We just had to get him squared away,” Johnson said.
Unable to play, Thomas attacked practices with the verve that he showed playing football with his three older brothers in Fitzgerald, a city of about 10,000 roughly 80 miles south of Macon.
“He’s like a little go-getter,” said Ida Ferguson, Thomas’ grandmother, who raised him. “He was the busiest one in the house. He thought he could do anything.”
Thomas ended up being the star of the defensive scout team at most practices last fall.
“I didn’t take [being redshirted] hard or whatever,” Thomas said. “I just rode with it.”
Freed to take the field this season, Thomas has been one of the more productive players on special teams with several tackles on the punt and kickoff teams. Matching a deeper understanding of Groh’s schemes with his quickness and ball skills, Thomas has made an unrelenting case for more playing time with his work at both cornerback and safety.
His performance against then-No. 5 Clemson in his first career start — interceptions to end the Tigers’ final two possessions, a forced fumble, five tackles and two pass breakups — spoke volumes in Tech’s 31-17 upset. Receiving the most playing time he’d had all season, Thomas amply displayed his knack for closing on the ball.
“That, to me, is one of the most important things, and he can find it,” secondary coach Charles Kelly said.
Thomas’ next challenge will be to validate the performance against Clemson with continued production against Virginia Tech, Duke and Georgia. He’d be wise to heed his grandmother’s advice — “When he does get his time, now you’ve got to take advantage of it and do your best, 110 percent,” she said. “Not 100 percent.”
“I just want to contribute to the team,” Thomas said. “That’s about it. Do what I can for the team.”
