UVA hauls in transfer WR from Notre Dame Thomas

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia deepened its wide receivers room this week when the Cavaliers gained a commitment from former Notre Dame wideout Jayden Thomas. The former Paulding County, Ga., player has one year of eligibility remaining.

Thomas played in all 16 games for the Irish this past season, including the national championship against Ohio State. He hauled in 18 receptions for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns this season, including a scoring catch against Indiana in the opening round of the College Football Playoffs.

For his career in South Bend, Thomas made 64 receptions for 833 yards and caught 7 TDs over 43 games.

The 6-foot-2, 218-pound receiver played high school ball for current UVA defensive ends coach Chris Slade at Pace Academy.

Thomas had trimmed his list of suitors to four — UVA, Virginia Tech, UCLA and Auburn — before visiting Charlottesville over the weekend and cancelling all of his other visits.

He is the 19th player Virginia has gained from the transfer portal, the 10th on offense and the third wide receiver.

UVA brought in a transfer receiver from Notre Dame last season in Chris Tyree, who spent much of the 2024 season on the injury list.