A lot has changed for Georgia State’s Jamari Thrash since last spring. No longer is he just another guy trying to distinguish himself from others in a room full of receivers. He’s the guy leading the way.
Thrash emerged from the pack last season when top returners Sam Pinckney and Cornelius McCoy were sidelined with hamstring issues. Thrash came out of the gate fast – seven catches in the season opener against Army – and wound up leading the team in receptions.
“This day and age is all about opportunity,” GSU coach Shawn Elliott said. “His opportunity came, and he took really good advantage of pushing himself very hard.”
Not bad for a guy who Elliott wasn’t even sure he wanted to recruit after visiting him for the first time at Troup High in LaGrange.
“When we were recruiting him, he never said a whole lot,” Elliott said. “I was like, I don’t know about Thrash. He doesn’t have that big competitive personality like I like. He was really quiet.”
“When you perform at a high level, you have that opportunity to be a leader. He does it right. Everything that he does, we never have an issue with. He's on time. He's a great communicator. Academics are in order. He does good things for us."
That turned out to be his nature. Once Thrash became familiar with the staff and the college atmosphere, his personality began to emerge.
“Now we’ve got a great relationship, and he’s really come on,” Elliott said.
After catching nine passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in 2020, Thrash had a breakthrough season in 2021 with a team-high 32 catches for 452 yards and three touchdowns. He had his first 100-yard reception game in the win over Arkansas State.
Thrash and senior Terrance Dixon, a slot receiver, are the two old hands. They’re helping talented young teammates such as Ja’Cyais Credle, Robert Lewis, Tailique Williams and Cadarrius Thompson become more familiar with the system and more productive on the field. It’s his way of paying it forward, just like the older guys did for him. Not that it was simple.
“I had to change my mindset,” Thrash said. “For me to be a leader now, I had to give a live lecture, and I’m still maturing, just being an example for the other guys and holding everybody accountable, holding myself accountable.”
For Thrash, that means being an example and showing up for practice early every day, going all-out, even though he might rather be someplace else.
“I had to go and look in the mirror, knowing they’re counting on me and guys are watching me to see what I’m going to do,” Thrash said.
Elliott said Thrash and other receivers are always getting in extra reps away from the field, whether that’s catching tennis balls that are bounced off the walls or showing up early to use the JUGS machine.
In addition to creating a closer position group on the field, they’ve also bonded away from the stadium. It’s not unusual to find them at the local bowling center in their free time. Thrash is still learning, but he bowled a 164 recently.
Elliott has seen the growth in Thrash – on and off the field – and expects it to continue.
“When you perform at a high level, you have that opportunity to be a leader,” Elliott said. “He does it right. Everything that he does, we never have an issue with. He’s on time. He’s a great communicator. Academics are in order. He does good things for us.”
Georgia State takes a break from practice for spring break after practice Thursday. The Panthers return to work March 22 in preparation for the spring game April 1.
About the Author
