It’s often said football is a ‘next man up’ sport. That was definitely the case for NC State football in a 41-7 win over Georgia State at Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday. With the Pack down redshirt junior receiver Jakobi Meyers, who was coming off a 14-catch, 161-yard performance last week, redshirt freshman Thayer Thomas stepped up with a career-high nine catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
“I know Jakobi had full confidence in me to go out there and just replace what he’s able to do,” Thomas said. “He told me all week in practice, ‘It’s your turn.’ Whoever gets put in that position should be able to go out there and make plays because the slot in our offense is looked at a lot. … I just feel like we have a really good receiving core and everyone can step up and make plays.”
The Wake Forest native made his presence felt early, with a slick one-handed grab that will be making the rounds on the highlight reels for the Pack’s first touchdown of the day.
“I feel like after I made that catch, [graduate quarterback Ryan Finley] was looking for me all game,” Thomas said. “I feel like that made him more confident in throwing me the ball and being able to make plays for him.”
Finley was quick to share that sentiment as his trust in Thomas has grown over the first two weeks of the season.
“Trustworthy, that’s a word I think of when I think of Thayer,” Finley said. “Unbelievable grab there in the end zone with his left hand. He’s special. He’s worked for it and he’s earned the right to be on this stage.”
Thomas’ big day, following up his first-career touchdown last week, also included a 56-yard double pass to freshman running back Trent Pennix on a trick play for the Wolfpack.
“We were supposed to do it last week, but the play didn’t come to,” Thomas said. “So this week we were able to. The defense gave us a look where we were able to make the play. I just caught it and threw it, tried to throw it on the hash where he was running to. It ended up working out.”
Thomas’ start is the next step in what’s been a quick rise for the six-foot receiver. He came to NC State as a walk-on last fall, but following a strong spring camp, received a scholarship offer from the Wolfpack.
“Thayer is playing at a high level,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “I think sometimes guys get categorized, a walk-on category, and people think that they just overachieve and they are not that great of athletes. And he is an overachiever, but he is a tremendous athlete. He’s got great quickness. He’s much faster than most people give him credit for, I can tell you that. He’s got good ball skills. He works really hard. He’s tough.”
The emergence of Thomas gives the Wolfpack one of the deepest receiver groups the team has seen. When everyone is healthy, the trio of Meyers, junior Kelvin Harmon and graduate Stephen Louis is one of the best starting groups in the country. Thomas, redshirt sophomore C.J. Riley and sophomore Emeka Emezie are a formidable group of backups.
While NC State’s offense still has some things to work on, one thing is clear: it’s got a deep group of wideouts capable of carrying the team game in and game out. NC State knew the receivers would be the best unit of this year’s team; Thomas’ emergence makes a strength even stronger.
“We have a lot of weapons,” Finley said. “It’s pretty special when I can just throw it out there to a lot of different targets. [We have] a lot of guys getting to touch the ball. We have a lot of different playmakers.”
