Why folks were wrong about JaCorey Thomas

Because he didn’t see the field as quickly as fellow 2022 signee Malaki Starks, many fans wondered what was "wrong" with JaCorey Thomas.

Turns out, it was nothing at all.

Although he signed with the Bulldogs as a safety, Thomas never played the position in high school.

But now in his third season, after countless practice sessions and 17 games in a backup role, the Orlando native appears ready to compete for a bigger role.

“In high school, I didn’t play safety. I played more on the offensive side of the ball. But I was like, I’d rather hit people than get hit by people, so I came to the conclusion that I wanted to play safety,” Thomas said. “But learning to play safety here is very difficult. There were a lot of ins and outs of our defense that were quite difficult for me, because I didn’t play the position at the time.

“But things started clicking around last year; I started to get in like a groove. From that point on, I’ve been growing, growing, and growing.”

At Orlando’s Boone High School, Thomas did play some defense, but it was more of a star/nickel position.

The first time he stepped on Georgia’s field as a safety, it was the first time he’d done so in his entire career.

“We recruited him as a size and speed player. He has really good size, really good speed,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He is fun to coach and is a great kid. He played a lot of nickel-star in high school, more like a Sam linebacker walking out in space. We taught him his freshman year how to play safety.”

Flash forward to spring practice in 2024.

Not only has Thomas progressed to the point where Smart feels comfortable with him at safety, but he’s also cross-training at star.

“Last year, I felt like he got to a point where he could really understand our defense—know it, react. If you’ve never seen things from 10 yards and you have only played them from two to three yards, it's a big change in visual backing up. He’s gotten that pretty good and is working some with Joenel (Aguero) at star as well,” Smart said. “I feel like he’s had a good spring thus far in picking things up. He's competing at two positions, so he's a dual-train guy, getting more mental reps at star since he hasn’t played that, while also getting reps at safety. I'm excited to see him in his first scrimmage this Saturday.”

Thomas (6-foot, 200 pounds) said he’s ready to show the Bulldogs what he’s finally capable of doing.

As far as cross-training at star, he’s coming along.

“I played star in high school. It’s not exactly the same thing at Georgia, but here and there has been similar,” he said. “As I’ve been cross-training, learning safety has helped me learn star better, or faster. I still mess up. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s good to be cross-training, learning multiple positions at Georgia, and doing the best I can at every position.”

The fact he’s learning the position from a coach he’s known for years in new safeties/star coach Travaris Robinson has made the transition all the more enjoyable.

“I’ve known Coach Robinson for quite a little bit now, going back to when I was a Florida kid to when he was at Miami. He recruited me to Miami and now he’s here at Georgia, so it’s cool,” Thomas said. “He and Coach (Will) Muschamp have been coaching together for like 15 years; they’re pretty much the same person.”

As far as potentially earning a starting role opposite Starks, Thomas said he’ll do his best.

“My motto is to keep competing, keep growing every day,” he said. “I take it day by day; we’ll see how it works out.”