Jets rookie cornerback Azareye’h Thomas played a lot of games in front of a lot of people at Florida State’s 79,500-capacity Doak S. Campbell Stadium, but the prospect of trotting onto the turf at Lambeau Field against the Packers in the preseason opener on Saturday night has him thinking and dreaming.
“Every night I try to picture it and try to visualize it, but it still just seems surreal,” he said. “I feel like it really won’t hit me until I’m out there on the field. And so I’m looking forward to it.
“But I’m just focused on doing my job and doing what the team needs, and whatever comes with that, it comes with that. I’m just focused on my team.”
Selected by the Green & White in Round 3 (No. 73 overall), the choice of Thomas may have been a bit of a surprise considering the Jets have Sauce Gardner; Brandon Stephens, who was signed in free agency; Michael Carter II in the slot; the veteran Isaiah Oliver; second-year man Qwan’tez Stiggers and others vying for playing time at the position. Yet Thomas brings good size (6-2, 196), a favorite characteristic for HC Aaron Glenn.
Last season Thomas started 12 games for Florida State and totaled a career-high 52 tackles to go with 5 pass defenses and 1 interception. A native of Niceville, FL, Thomas, 20, played in 37 games during his three seasons in Tallahassee and totaled 95 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 17 PDs and 2 INT.
“It’s going it’s going smooth, like I’m doing solids, like I got a bunch of stuff to correct and get better at, but so far, it’s been solid up,” he said about his first two weeks in training camp. “Just really the small, minute little detail. As I said, when I first came in, this game is about the details. You can make a play, but you were aligned incorrectly, and so just the little things that I personally want to get better at, coach may say, ‘oh, good play, good, this or that,’ but it really wasn’t up in my standard, and I feel like that’s really the biggest thing.”