JaCorey Thomas not getting ahead of himself in third season at Georgia
This spring is different for every player on the Georgia footbal roster and that’s especially true for JaCorey Thomas. This January marks the two-year anniversary of the Florida native’s arrival in Athens. It’s his third spring and he now finds himself in the thick of a battle for a starting safety position, a spot he didn’t know much about when he signed with the Bulldogs.
Thomas played a lot of offense at Boone High School (Orlando, Fla.) When he flipped over to the other side of the ball, he was more of a STAR/nickel/SAM linebacker. He played near the line of scrimmage. The Georgia staff liked him at safety but not because they had seen him do it.
“He is a great kid. We recruited him as a size and speed player. He has really good size, really good speed.” Kirby Smart said earlier this week.”
Playing safety was an adjustment. Smart has been coaching the defensive side of the ball for over 20 years and says that there’s a major adjustment when a player goes from playing within a few yards of the line of scrimmage to 10-plus yards. It’s a different visual. There’s more space. Thomas had to get used to that before everything else could start clicking.
Now, after two years of learning that spot, the Georgia staff feels comfortable enough with his progression that he’s starting to learn a second position, one that is familiar. This spring Thomas has been asked to cross-train at STAR with Joenel Aguero and Kyron Jones. The Bulldogs have an opening there, too, with Tykee Smith moving on to the NFL.
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“I feel like he’s had a good spring this far as far as picking things up,” Smart said. “He is competing at two positions, so he is a dual-train guy, getting more mental reps at star since he hasn’t played that, while also getting reps at safety. I am excited to see him in his first scrimmage this Saturday.”
Earning a starting job at Georgia is never easy and Thomas learned that quickly. Despite the fact that he has seen limited reps over the past two years, mostly in mop-up duty and special teams, he has learned a lot.
Now he has to beat out guys with more experience like Dan Jackson and David Daniel-Sisavahn. He’s also up against a transfer who was brought in to help right away in Jake Pope and a highly-touted true freshman in KJ Bolden. Redshirt freshman Justyn Rhett is also in the mix. Thomas has a long way to go before he has a defined role for the likely No. 1 team in America to start the 2024 season and getting ahead of himself is something he’s working to avoid.
“My motto is to keep competing, to keep growing every day,” Thomas said on Tuesday. “Take it day by day, see how everything ends up.”
