Continuing on our profiling of all the rookies for the 2010 Jaguars, Roren Thomas is the next subject in line. Among a crowded wide receiver corps, Thomas will have to fight hard to beat out the likes of Tiquan Underwood, Nate Hughes, Troy Williamson, Clarence Denmark, Jason Harmon, Chris McGaha and Kassim Osgood to earn a roster spot at receiver. Where he may have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot is at the kick return spot, where he dominated while at Lindenwood.
After spending his first years of collegiate play at Tennessee-Martin, Thomas transferred to Lindenwood. While at UT-Martin, Thomas accumulated 90 receptions for 1,481 and 14 touchdowns. However, an incident occurred after his junior season that marred his stay with the Skyhawks:"On March 27, 2009 Thomas and two other men were arrested in connection with an alleged assault at a UT-Martin fraternity house. Thomas was charged with Criminal Responsibility for Conduct of Another, but the charges were dropped.
He decided to transfer closer to home where his parents and three siblings reside – and he helped Lindenwood to its best season in history with a 13-1 record and an appearance in the NAIA Championship game in Rome, Ga." - via Alvin Reed of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat
At Lindenwood he caught 37 passes for 409 yards and hauled in 2 touchdowns. He also added 236 yards rushing with 3 rushing touchdowns. But it was likely his impact on the return game that had the Jaguars, among others, drooling. He piled up 1,165 all-purpose yards with a 25.2 kick return average and 20.6 punt return average. Thomas added 3 return touchdowns, which may not initially seem like much, but when you consider that 8 return touchdowns were called back due to penalty, it is clear that he can be a playmaker.
Thomas is prepared to do everything he can to be on the final roster and he appears to be someone who is not going to be easy to write off. Here are some notable quotes from Alvin Reed's story on Thomas:
"A lot of teams were interested in me. Jacksonville pulled the trigger quickly,"
"I like Jacksonville, they have some good guys. I plan to be a Jaguar; to be on the 53-man roster."
"I can do a lot. I’m versatile. I’m ready,"
Video Killed the Scouting Report
Roren Thomas: By the Numbers
| Roren Thomas |
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Position 1: Wide Receiver |
Height: 5'11 | ||||
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Position 2: Kick Returner |
Weight: 172 | ||||
| Class: Senior | Age: 22 | ||||
| Bench Reps: ? |
40 Time: 4.42 |
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| Stats Overview | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||
| YEAR | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 2006 | 9 | 138 | 15.3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 49 | 24.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 39 | 553 | 14.2 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 65 | 13.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 42 | 790 | 18.8 | 82 | 7 | 21 | 363 | 17.3 | 85 | 3 | 0 | 0 |