Louisville WR Jamari Thrash will give his NFL team a twist of fate

Jan 30, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; American wide reciever Jamari Thrash of Louisville (3) grabs a pass with American defensive back Jaylin Simpson of Auburn (36) defending during practice for the American team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

There is a lot to say about Louisville receiver Jamari Thrash. His deep route tree, his foot quickness, his ability to make difficult catches seem routine- all of which are assets that will make one NFL team very happy, and 31 others wondering why they didn’t draft him.

The best analogy, though, came from a discussion with the young receiver himself.

“Hey, is that a Jeff Hardy figure on your wall?”

That was it.

“Would you say you’re the Jeff Hardy of this receiver class?” I asked.

With a laugh, the young receiver agreed.

“Yeah, we can definitely run with that. Jeff Hardy at wide receiver.”

And while that was mostly a tongue-in-cheek joke between two guys who grew up playing Smackdown Vs. Raw on PlayStation 2, the way that Thrash carries himself off the field and attracts attention on it would certainly draw comparisons to the pro wrestling icon.

Growing up in Lagrange, Georgia, Thrash was the fifth of six children.

“My dad’s side was a little more crowded,” Thrash said. “That’s where I had all my cousins, my aunties and all that.”

Thrash says his uncle is who helped usher in his love of football.

“I didn’t really pay attention to sports or anything until I started hanging around him,” Thrash said. “He was probably the first coaching presence I had in my life. He was always wanting to work on different things with me athletically at a young age. He passed away, unfortunately, before he really got to see me play at any sort of high level.”

While his uncle never got to see what was in store for Thrash, his father was right by his side through the entire journey from high school through college.”

“That’s my best friend,” Thrash’s father, Rodney, said. “Kids don’t realize the impact they have on us as parents but watching him grow, and watching him go on this journey as been a blessing as a father.”

Thrash began his high school career at Lagrange High School, where he spent his first two seasons before a coaching change, as well as a change in the offense, led him to transfer.

“They wanted to run the Wing-T offense and put me at running back,” Thrash said. “And look, loyalty is a big thing to me so I gave it a shot but I knew pretty quickly that it wasn’t something that best suited me.”

Thrash’s father agreed with that sentiment.

“They were running that old type of offense, and that didn’t suit what Jamari brought to the table,” the elder Thrash said. “On top of that, once he did transfer, it was evident that the coaching staff at the new school was far more advanced in their thinking and preparation and I knew that we did the right thing for his future.”

Thrash transferred to Lagrange’s biggest rival- Troupe County. In his junior season, he caught 61 passes for over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“Once he was getting good playing time and in the right scheme that fit him, it was only a matter of time before he started opening eyes like ‘oh okay, he can play,'” Rodney said. “Now I’m his dad, so of course I know what he’s capable of but it was good to see him really take off on the field. Not only that but in basketball and track, as well. He’s a natural athlete.”

The younger Thrash laughed at his father’s compliment.

“Man, I was okay at basketball,” Thrash said. “I could defend, I was quick and could get to the hoop. But my junior year is when I got my first offer for football, so in my head I was like ‘let me focus on this as a way to take care of myself for the future.”

While several scholarship offers would come, no power five schools reached out to the shifty receiver, even after a productive senior season.

“I wasn’t a high-profile guy, and I wasn’t highly recruited by power five schools. I had lower division schools, I had an offer from Nevada, and I think I had just about every school in the Sun Belt that offered me. But there wasn’t really any interest from those bigger schools.

While Thrash didn’t end up at a power five school initially, he committed to Georgia State where he would make a name for himself.

“Georgia State was always consistent with me,” Thrash said. “They came to my high school, they came to all my games, my basketball games, even. They came every Friday, so I saw them every week. And they were just consistent in talking to me. I’d talk to coach Elliott every Wednesday. So they just made me feel real comfortable, and I was only an hour up the road.”

Thrash redshirted as a freshman. And although he appeared in three games, he didn’t get enough snaps that would exceed being able to redshirt. His first taste of strong playing time came in his redshirt sophomore season in 2021.

“As a freshman you want to play, you want to be out there when you’re used to being the guy,” Thrash said. “But I took the time to sit back and observe, learn from the other guys in front of me. I had [Coastal Carolina wide receiver] Sam Pickney and Cornelius McCoy in front of me at the time. So I just learned from them, watched how they moved at that level- just the little things that would make me better as a receiver. And I need to give them credit and tell them I appreciate them because like I said, I watched and learned a lot from what they did and it made me a better player.”

In his redshirt junior year, Thrash doubled nearly all of his numbers from 2021. He hauled in 61 passes for over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging over 18 yards per catch. When asked what clicked, the big-play receiver gave a hilariously honest response.

“C-Mac and Sam left,” Thrash said with an honest laugh. “And once they went to different schools, that was the opportunity for me to become that No. 1 guy. I started doing some more training and making sure I was taking it all as seriously as I could.”

The big season caught the attention of Louisville, where Thrash transferred ahead of the 2023 season.

“I got in the portal pretty late,” Thrash said. “I entered on Thursday, and it closed that following Monday. So I had a lot of schools that were blowing up my phone. And I had an actual job at the time, too. I worked at Playa Bowls in the middle of all this, and luckily my manager was the sweetest lady and understood my situation and what it meant for my future.”

While he ended up a Cardinal, Thrash came close to yelling “War Eagle” at Auburn.

“Auburn was the first school I visited,” Thrash said. “It’s only about an hour from Lagrange so it was close to home, and I grew up an Auburn fan, but they didn’t recruit me out of high school. So I went there, had a great meeting with Hugh Freeze. But academically it wouldn’t have worked because of my major, so that’s where that ended. I went to Louisville shortly after, and once I got there it just reminded me so much of Lagrange- small country town, it gave me the same kind of vibes as being home. So once I got here, it was easy for me to adapt. And seeing what Coach Brohm did with Charlie Jones the year before, it just made a lot of sense. On my visit, we went to the basketball game together and everyone was just really excited that Coach Brohm was coming back. Season ticket holders were coming up to him and just saying how excited they were. All of that put together just made it easy and made a lot of sense for me to end up here.”

Thrash put up a career-high 63 catches in 2023 and was one of the nation’s most electrifying receivers. His performance earned him an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

“That whole week was eye-opening,” Thrash said. “It showed me that all the work I put in was paying off. But it also showed me I’m in that same breath of Ladd McConkey and Xavier Legette and all the other guys that were in Mobile with me. It’s crazy what one great year can do, it’s not something I really thought about going into the season, but I’m absolutely grateful to have gotten the opportunity to be there.”

When asked if any part of Senior Bowl week was intimidating, Thrash didn’t flinch.

“Nah,” Thrash said with a confident grin. “For real, man, not at all. I’m a competitor, the same as every other guy that was there. So just being down there being able to go against the best corners in this class, the best safeties in this class and showing all those guys why I’m here at the same time- none of that was intimidating. I embrace competition.”

When it came time to get to the NFL Combine, the incoming rookie was ready for the media circus that comes with the week in Indianapolis, and credits his father for that.

“Coming up in high school, I talked to the local media a lot,” Thrash said. “And my dad was always reminding me to be presentable, speak clear, don’t stutter your words. And that type of preparation helped me, not only with the media, but when I’m talking with coaches and they’re getting to know me, that presentation of myself is something my dad instilled in me early on.”

In terms of what Thrash can bring to the table for an NFL team, he says his film speaks for itself.

Jamari Thrash out here making dudes fall down pic.twitter.com/2e8xHKz2eG

— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 21, 2024

“I’d say my best attribute is definitely my route-running,” Thrash said. “I’m a savvy route runner, I can create separation at the top of my routes. Versatility, too. That was something I felt I had to prove at the Senior Bowl, as well, was my versatility. And I think I did a good job of showing that I can be that versatile guy. Because throughout my career, I was predominantly an outside guy, but I think I put enough on tape to show you I can take a jet sweep to the house. Or if you want to put me in the backfield and run an option route on a linebacker, or if you want to line me up in the slot. So I felt like I had to show I could do that, and I did.”

Even after a rise from small-school standout to potential Day Two pick in the NFL Draft, Thrash remains grounded with his approach, not just to football, but to life.

Jamari Thrash knows how to get open. pic.twitter.com/cDgFjTw0ij

— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 21, 2024

“Look man, I’m lucky enough to have had a good set of people around me, good parents and all that. But there was a brief time when I was really young, my mom, my sisters and I were living in and out of motels. We got kicked out of a motel and had to sleep in a van for a couple weeks before my grandma came and got us. And my grandma had multiple houses so we lived in one of them rent free, but there was still times where the lights were getting cut off, the water was getting shut off. So a lot of that opened my eyes, even at a young age. And when the time comes for the draft and I have my family, my agent and everybody with me- well first off, I’m gonna try not to cry. But they’ll all definitely be excited, and I know I will be too.”

Whatever team is smart enough, and lucky enough, to call Thrash’s name in the 2024 NFL Draft will be getting themselves a polished route runner with No. 1 X receiver potential. And while he may move like a whisper in the wind, he’ll be giving his future team a twist of fate.

This article originally appeared on Touchdownwire: Louisville WR Jamari Thrash will give his NFL team a twist of fate