DESTREHAN, La. (WGNO) — Destrehan rising star Jhase Thomas officially announced his commitment to Brian Kelly and the LSU football program.
Kelly offered Thomas a football scholarship in person last month.
“Coach BK, the first thing he told me was that he would love for me to be a Tiger. The first thing I told him is that I’m going to be a Tiger. So that day I knew for a fact I was going to be a Tiger,” said Thomas.
The announcement was made Saturday on his 17th birthday in front of friends and family at the Sports Pub & Grill in Destrehan.
Thomas chose LSU over schools like Ole Miss, Colorado, Houston and Texas Tech.
Thomas is regarded as one of the top defensive backs in the state of Louisiana and he’s only played the safety position for one full year.
The transition to the secondary was natural for the son of former New Orleans Saints defensive back, Fred Thomas.
“He was the first ever coach to teach me how to play DB going into my junior year. Countless amount of days I was on the field trying to learn how to do different techniques and stuff and he was always there to teach me how to do it,” said Thomas.
The 6’3, 180-pounder pieced together an impressive junior campaign with the Wildcats and offers from some of the top college football programs in the country followed a solid spring camp.
Thomas is currently a four-star prospect and one of eight returning starters on the Destrehan defense in the fall of 2024.
When asked about the leadership role Thomas will assume in the upcoming season, head coach Marcus Scott said, “Jhase is going to be our Kolaj [Cobbins] this year. I mean, he’s going to be the guy who has that experience and, you know, we’re looking for him to come out and really just do his job on and off the field, continue to be a leader.”
Kolaj Cobbins signed with LSU as well.
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