Miami’s diminutive Jeff Thomas has big talent, question marks

Diminutive wide receiver Jeff Thomas entered Miami with hype far greater than his stature. He’s again starting to generate some buzz — positive and negative — in the NFL draft despite an underwhelming collegiate career plagued by off-field issues.

“As long as a team is ‘OK’ with some of his off-the-field concerns, he could be a Tyreek Hill-lite at the next level,” Daniel Parlegreco wrote in his draft guide. “His levels of quickness and footwork remind me so much of Tyreek, creating ridiculous levels of spacing for quarterbacks.”

Thomas was the smallest player at February’s scouting combine, measuring at 5 feet 8 inches and 170 pounds.

He knows he must show he has a level of toughness that belies his size if he wants to prove to teams he deserves a shot at the next level.

“The majority of the open field is in the middle of the field,” he said in a combine video interview with Football Gameplan. “If you can fight to get there, you can work back to the outside and use the speed to try to beat defenders.”

He didn’t show that ability enough during his time with the Hurricanes.

After choosing Miami over the likes of Oregon, Michigan and Alabama following an All-American high school career that had him as the No. 1 prospect in Illinois, Thomas caught 83 passes for 1,316 yards and eight touchdowns in his three collegiate seasons. The 22-yard per catch average stood out.

He insists he’s more than just a speed guy, having acquired a dogged determination to silence his critics.

“I think I developed that,” he said. “Coming from nothing puts a chip on your shoulder to try to work hard, beat everybody at your position and try to come out on top. And I take a lot of pride in (my ball skills). People don’t see what I can do with my hands. They only look at my speed, but I have to catch the ball first in order to use my speed.”

His talent and speed have never been in doubt. But his disciplinary record has been. Thomas was dismissed from the team late in his sophomore season at Miami by Mark Richt, then allowed to return by new coach Manny Diaz after a brief flirtation with Illinois. Thomas then drew a two-game suspension from Diaz this season for a violation of team rules.

Even after he ran an acceptable 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine and posted a vertical jump of 36.5 inches, several observers were disappointed by the numbers. It even led some to question whether he even trained for the event, which caused even more question marks.

Thomas is seen as a potential mid-round pick based on his talent and projects as a slot receiver and return man in the NFL. But the character concerns may keep him off the board completely.

ESPN has him listed at No. 43 among receivers and No. 288 overall. Pro Football Focus doesn’t have him listed in its draft guide. In Thomas, it seems, some team could end up with a small steal or a bust late in the draft or free agency.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.