How NC State wide receiver Thayer Thomas went from walk-on to top target for the Pack

Thayer Thomas didn’t get to sleep until after 5 o’clock early Sunday morning, N.C State’s 30-20 loss at Clemson too fresh in his mind.

The setting Saturday was big and electric in Death Valley, both teams ranked in the top 10, ABC there to show it. And then to lose? It was painful, especially for a Wolfpack team that had worked and strained for years to get to that moment, that stage.

“Usually after games I have a hard time sleeping, win or lose, just because of the emotion that goes into it, the adrenaline you have during the game,” Thomas told The News & Observer Tuesday. “Especially that kind of game, that kind of magnitude. There’s not a lot of things that can calm me down from that.

“You dream of moments like that, to be a part of that.”

Thomas, the Pack’s slot receiver, had nine catches in the game for 84 yards. But there were still some plays that bothered him, plays where his route could have been a bit sharper or if he tried a bit harder to latch on to the pass, it would have helped quarterback Devin Leary, helped the offense, maybe made a difference.

And so Thomas tossed and turned.

“I finally got up about 8 or 9 that morning,” he said. “Sore, body hurting a little bit, mind racing. It was a tough game and tough to get some rest after it.”

Thomas, who holds both an undergraduate and graduate degree from NCSU, said it has become a little easier as one of the team’s older, more seasoned players to let a loss go, move on to the next thing. A year ago, after the Pack was beaten by Wake Forest, the burn stayed with him much longer.

“It’s a little easier when it’s earlier in the season because you still have so much in front of you,” he said.

Florida State is next for the Wolfpack, Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. Then a trip to Syracuse. There’s no time to be weary. Come Monday, it was on to FSU.

Walk-on to leading receiver

Thomas, who played three sports at Heritage High in Wake Forest, was a walk-on to Dave Doeren’s football program at N.C. State in 2017, reshaping his body, working on his skills and route-running and now is the leading receiver on a Power Five team ranked No. 14 in the AP poll.

“Thayer is unique in what he’s done,” Doeren said Monday at his weekly news conference. “He’s above the 1-percentile line when it comes to his work ethic.”

Asked Monday if had been around a player who had maximized his talent as well as Thomas, Doeren mentioned a former Wisconsin walk-on — JJ Watt, an All-American with the Badgers and All-Pro defensive lineman in the NFL.

That’s quite a comparison — and a mouthful.

“It’s about being consistent daily and having that internal drive,” Thomas said. “Some guys might have a drive based off external factors but I really believe I have an internal drive about me that I’m self-motivated. I’m not motivated by things outside of what I can control.

“That’s just the way I was raised. I’m addicted to the feeling of success. So you continue to chase that each and every day and each year. The reward is playing in the game and playing well. You only get 12 a year, so the whole year you’re working for those moments.”

Thomas smiled when told about Doeren mentioning Watt this week. He said he had heard it before — from Doeren.

It came, he said, when Doeren gave him a scholarship during the spring of 2018. True, the Pack was recruiting Thomas’ younger brother, Drake, now an All-ACC starting linebacker for N.C. State. But Thayer had made his own mark.

“Back in 2018 he came to my house, nine months after I came to N.C. State,” Thomas said. “He said I had a good spring prior, and I was doing really well on special teams. I had gotten bigger, stronger, faster.

“And I’ll remember this until I die, he said, ‘You’re one of two players I’ve had given a scholarship before taking a step on the football field. The other was JJ Watt.’ Saying that motivated me.”

Always the perfectionist

Thomas calls himself a perfectionist. He recalls days at the Kerr Family YMCA in North Raleigh when he was 10 and 11 years old, shooting a basketball and charting all his shots.

While the other kids were playing pickup hoops and kidding around, Thomas would find an open court. He’d take 15 corner shots, then go to a clipboard and write down the results. Then, 15 mid-range shots. Back to the clipboard. Fifteen free throws, clipboard. His father, he said, kept a template of his shooting accuracy from each spot.

“The other kids definitely looked at me a little crazy,” Thomas said, smiling. “It just started at a young age — routine.”

These days, Thomas super-analyzes every route, every catch, saying, “If I don’t make a play, I replay that play over and over again and see what I could have done differently.”

Thomas said he meets with the quarterbacks every night “to make sure I’m on the same page with them and to show them that I care and that I want to be that guy.”

Thus far, he has been that guy. His 24 receptions are tied for third in the ACC. He also has a TD pass to running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, the fourth scoring throw of Thomas’ career.

“For all the things he can do — he’s run reverses, he’s thrown the football, he’s an excellent receiver — the thing I probably take my hat off to is that he’s really worked on his blocking,” N.C. State offensive coordinator Tim Beck said.

Thomas’ 22 career TD catches are second only to former Wolfpack All-America Torry Holt’s 31. And Thomas’ 22nd touchdown catch was a beauty. On the first play of the Connecticut game, he slowed up a half-step to make the grab between defenders on a sideline throw, cut back to his left and turned it into a 75-yard score.

The Pack needs more from its other wideouts. Leary needs it. Devin Carter, Keyon Lesane and the others have not been on the same page with Leary often enough.

“Sometimes, I think people like to point the finger and say this receiver liked to do this and this receiver liked to do that,” Thomas said. “I think at the end of the day, the offense as a whole needs to continue to get flowing.

“There’s some tough plays that need to be made that over the years you’ve seen be made. Like contested catches. We’ve got to make the quarterback look good. If we make the quarterback look good, we’re doing our job.”

Thayer Thomas: The Brand

Thomas is a thoroughly modern college athlete. He has his own web site (thayerthomas.com) and his own clothing line with his “TT5” logo.

In a time when college athletes are quickly understanding the value of name, image and likeness and seeking out NIL deals, Thomas has been promoting his brand.

It’s right there at the top of his web site — “The Brand.”

Thomas, who’s on Twitter and Instagram (@thayerthomas1), has partnerships with Jungle Brand fitness apparel, Cameo personalized videos, Gopher delivery services and ting fiber internet.

“I think it changed a lot in the last year and a half,” Thomas said of NIL. “I think it’s bigger than football, right? The way I carry myself off the field and the way I promote myself, social media wise, you make an image of yourself and it’s very important to create an image and create a brand because that brand will last a lot longer than you will in a uniform.

“I feel like I’m one of the more involved guys on the team with NIL and doing my own brand and stuff.”

Thomas’ clothing, which he said has sold pretty well, includes a black T-shirt. On it: “Walk-on.” Seems fitting enough.

‘Believe in yourself’

Thomas doesn’t believe football will end for him after this season. He expects to be playing on the next level, a receiver in the NFL.

“I think I’m an elite player who can play there,” he said. “I see myself as that. I can see a lot of different players in the league right now who are having success and I could be just like that. I think I have the same ability.”

That might sound like a heavy dose of bravado for a player who is 6-feet tall and 195 pounds, but he spent much of his athletic life being the little guy who could. As a freshman in high school, he was 5-6 and 105 pounds, a JV player for his first two years.

Look at him now.

“You’ve got to dream big, believe in yourself,” Thomas said on one of his Cameo pep-talk messages. “If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you.”

Thomas said he has “worked his way up from the bottom” at N.C. State and is prepared to do the same in the NFL. Just get to a training camp and prove himself. Work and strain. Make yourself valuable.

“I can play slot, I can play outside, I can return punts, I can play special teams,” he said.

And pass. Thomas does have four career TD passes for the Pack.

“Just give me the chance,” he said.