He played college football at Temple University, where he earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2016.

Thomas was a two-sport athlete at Elizabeth High School where he played both football and basketball.

[1] Coming out of high school, Thomas was ranked as three-star prospect by ESPN and the fourth best running back in the state of New Jersey.

His special teams play was good enough to warrant a spot on Phil Steele's All-Conference Third-team.

During the summer before his Sophomore year at Temple, Thomas transitioned into becoming a full-time running back.

Temple went on to appear in the 2015 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game and the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl.

[3] That year, Temple went on to win the 2016 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game, but lost in the 2016 Military Bowl against Wake Forest.

Entering the draft, Thomas was labeled as a "Productive running back lacking in NFL-caliber size and strength but who makes up for it with his quickness and ability to help as a pass catcher and return man" by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.