Bryan 'with a Y' Thomas Jr. made Jaguars roster through sheer hard work

The regular season isn't even here yet, and already there's confusion about which Thomas Jr. is part of a conversation at the Jacksonville Jaguars' Miller Electric Center.

After coach Liam Coen

gave a lengthy observation on how undrafted rookie defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. caught his attention and went on to make the 53-man roster during a news conference on Sept. 2, Coen wanted to double-check with the questioner.

"Wait, were you talking about the rush end or the wide out?" he said, referring to Brian Thomas Jr., the team's third-year wide receiver.

It's a conversation that is likely to happen again, whether it's in the locker room or among fans in sports bars.

Coen had one idea about how to clear it up.

"We call Bryan Thomas Jr. the 'Rush End

Bryan,' and we'll call [Brian Thomas Jr., the wide receiver], 'BT,'" Coen said.

Other ideas have percolated. For example, there's "BTJ7" and "BTJ57" for their uniform numbers. Another one tossed out has been "BTJ 2.0."

Bryan Thomas Jr. is leaving it up to others and noted the only difference in the two names: one letter in the first name.

"Whatever y'all want to call me," said the 6-foot-2, 235-pound former South Carolina Gamecock. "But Brian with a Y is up there first."

Given one player is a gifted wide receiver and the other the surprise of training camp, Coen simply said, "It's a good problem to have."

And as far as Bryan Thomas Jr. is concerned, all that matters is that his name is on the active roster as he beat the odds, worked hard and made plays to earn it.

"There hasn't been much confusion in the locker room," he said.

Maybe that's because it's where he belongs.

Thomas clinched spot in Bucs game

Thomas has been catching the eye of coaches since OTAs last May. Even though the team was in shorts and helmets, Thomas attacked tackling dummies and sleds like a hungry dog.

“Yeah, early in OTAs when you just saw him hit bags," Coen said. "We had no pads on, no nothing, you could see an explosiveness, twitchy, loose, some natural pass rush skills, it's a knack, it's a feel. Some guys have it; some guys, it takes a little while to get there."

Thomas started 19 games and played 46 in four years at South Carolina but went undrafted. He was targeted by the Jaguars once the draft ended and Thomas hasn't made them regret it.

"When you earn it, you're going to get it," general manager James Gladstone said of Thomas. "We're not afraid or going to shy away from the fact that, when that is something that surfaces to the top, to pursue it regardless of where you started, regardless of how much you make."

After impressing coaches in OTAs, mini-camp and training camp, Thomas was even better in preseason games. He was fourth on the team with 11 tackles in the three games (nine solo), and led the Jags with 3.5 sacks and six quarterback hits.

In a 19-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Bucs on Aug. 28, Thomas had four tackles, 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and, for fun, a special-teams tackle.

"Come out here and go full speed," Thomas said. "But my best foot forward … that's all I can do."

Having an NFL player for a father helped Thomas

Thomas' father and namesake was a defensive end/linebacker for the New York Jets for 11 seasons, from 2002-2012. Bryan Thomas Sr., had 442 tackles and 33.5 sacks and played against the Jaguars seven times, with 26 solo tackles.

Bryan Jr. grew up in Central Florida and played high school football at Foundation Academy in Winter Garden. Like his father, he had experience playing in Jacksonville when his high school went against University Christian.

He'd prefer to forget that.

"They whooped us every year," he said.

But Thomas was good enough to get the attention of South Carolina, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Maryland, NC State, Virginia Tech and Minnesota, and settled on the Gamecocks.

Through high school, college and into the NFL, Thomas has relied on his father as a coach, mentor and example of the work required to make it to the NFL, and then to stay.

"It's kind of like a head start, in front of everybody, because I already know what it's like," he said about the NFL. "But he told me that at the end of the day, it's just football. Go out there, play, have fun."

Thomas' confidence grew at every step

Thomas went through rookie minicamp, OTAs and minicamp like that undrafted rookie that he was. He kept his head down, worked as hard as he could and knew from his father's example that it was the only way to make it.

But he started noticing after practices and in meetings, defensive coaches and Coen were going out of their way to praise him.

"The coaches were patting me on my back, giving me my credit, saying, 'Man, BT, you got some good pass rush moves,'" Thomas recalled. "'You come out the edge like real good. We can definitely use something like that.' That's when the confidence [started] and I was, 'Okay, I could really make this team.'"

Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile was the guy Thomas had to impress the most, and he did.

“He definitely has shown me some things," Campanile said before the final preseason game. "He's played explosively in the games, and I think he's jumped out. His play style, his effort, that's jumped out. And that's what we saw in him watching his tape at South Carolina. He was a guy that was going to run and hit. He was going to play his a-- off every play."

Thomas gets the emotional news

Thomas said he'll never forget how he found out he would be an NFL player. He was at the team facility on Aug. 30 getting treatment and started getting phone calls from his mother and other family members who had been standing a hard watch on news of NFL cuts on social media.

Then Campanile called him with the official word.

"That's when it hit me," he said. "I almost broke down and started tearing up."

But on Sept. 2, the team's first practice since cutdown day, it was back to work ― even down to continuing the rookie tradition of carrying the helmets and pads of veterans back to the locker room.

Thomas said his father gave him one last bit of advice.

"He said I'm on the team … now I've got to turn it and get back to work," Thomas said. "Obviously, you want to celebrate. You worked hard for this opportunity but you've got to live in the moment and be where your feet are."

Right now, they're on an NFL roster, with just days to go before an NFL opening day. There might be confusion about Bryan Thomas Jr.'s name but his number's been called.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bryan 'with a Y' Thomas Jr. made Jaguars roster through sheer hard work