He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft.

He was named a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as a junior, and was a second-team All-ACC selection as a senior.

[3] On January 25, 2014, he played in the Reese's Senior Bowl, asapart of Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith's North team that lost 20–10 to the South.

[4] He performed all of the combine drills and ran the ninth fastest 40-yard dash among all offensive linemen and had the fifth best vertical jump.

[5] On March 6, 2014, Thomas attended Clemson's pro day, along with Tajh Boyd, Martavis Bryant, Sammy Watkins, Tyler Shatley, Chandler Catanzaro, Bashaud Breeland, and eight others.

On April 3, 2014, Thomas suffered a torn ACL while performing a non-contact drill at a private workout he was attending with the New Orleans Saints.

[8] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Thomas was projected by NFL draft experts and scouts to be a third to fifth round pick.

[28] In 2022, Thomas began his coaching career when he joined the staff at his alma mater, Clemson, as an offensive graduate assistant.