Jakobe Thomas

Jakobe Mekhi Thomas (born June 30, 2003) is an American college football safety for the Miami Hurricanes. He previously played for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Jakobe Thomas

No. 8 – Miami Hurricanes
Position	Safety
Class	Redshirt Senior
Personal information
Born	(2003-06-30) June 30, 2003 (age 22) Starkville, Mississippi, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Tullahoma (Tullahoma, Tennessee)
College	Middle Tennessee (2021–2023) Tennessee (2024) Miami (FL) (2025–present)
Awards and highlights
Second-team All-ACC (2025)
Stats at ESPN

Early life

Thomas was born and grew up in Starkville, Mississippi before moving to Tullahoma, Tennessee,^[1] where he would attend Tullahoma High School. Coming out of high school, he committed to play college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.^[2]

College career

Middle Tennessee

During his first collegiate season in 2021, Thomas used the season to redshirt.^[3] In the 2022 season, he played in all 12 games making three starts, where he notched 37 tackles with one going for a loss, three pass deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble.^[4] During the 2023 season, Thomas became a full-time starter, where he totaled 71 tackles with three being for a loss, five pass deflections, and a forced fumble, where after the conclusion of the season, he decided to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.^[5][6]

Tennessee

Thomas transferred to play for the Tennessee Volunteers, after initially committing to play for the Oregon State Beavers.^[7] In his first season in 2024, he played in all 13 games, recording 22 tackles, a sack, and two pass deflections.^[8][9] After the conclusion of the 2024 season, Thomas decided to once again enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.^[10]

Miami (FL)

Thomas transferred to play for the Miami Hurricanes.^[11] He entered the 2025 season, as one of the Hurricanes starting safeties.^[12] In week four of the 2025 season, Thomas totaled five tackles with one and a half being for a loss, and a sack in a win over rival Florida.^[13] In week six, he recorded five tackles, a sack, two pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble in a 28-22 victory against rival Florida State, where for his performance he was named the ACC defensive back of the week, and the Bronco Nagurski Defensive Player of the week.^[14] In week eleven, Thomas notched an interception in a victory versus Syracuse.^[15]