Juanyeh Thomas’ NFL combine invitation made official

Former Georgia Tech safety Juanyeh Thomas’ invitation to the NFL scouting combine was made official Wednesday with the league’s announcement of the 324 draft prospects who have been invited to the event, to be held March 1-7 in Indianapolis.

Thomas was one of 61 defensive backs invited. Thomas played in 47 games during his four seasons with the Yellow Jackets, starting 32 of 33 games in his final three seasons.

Thomas’ draft standing also was recognized in his participation in the East-West Shrine Bowl last week in Las Vegas along with offensive tackle Devin Cochran.

Thomas learned of the invitation in January from his agent, who told him to check his email “and then he was like, ‘We’re going to Indy with an exclamation mark,’” Thomas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution then. “And then I checked my email and I just, like, broke down in tears.”

As the NFL’s teams recommend which players should be invited, a spot in the combine is a strong indicator of a prospect’s draft candidacy.

“This is one step closer to my goal, and that’s getting drafted, and this just gave me more confidence and added more fuel to my fire,” Thomas said. “Because I’ve still got this chip on my shoulder. I’ve still got stuff to prove to people.”