He played college football at Indiana, and was selected by the Panthers in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft.

Thomas played all 13 games during his first year at Indiana, acting as a blocking tight end and recording only three catches.

[2] During his senior year, after a game against Georgia Southern, in which he had a 71-yard touchdown, Thomas was named the Mackey Award Tight End of the Week.

On January 27, 2018, Thomas played in the Reese's Senior Bowl and was part of Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team that defeated the North 45–16.

On April 3, 2018, Thomas attended Indiana's pro day, but chose to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills.

Thomas was also ranked as the fifth best tight end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and CBS Sports and was ranked the sixth best tight end by Scouts Inc.[8][9] The Carolina Panthers selected Thomas in the fourth round with the 101st overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

[15] In Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons, he scored his first professional touchdown on a one-yard reception from quarterback Taylor Heinicke.