University of North Texas Athletics
Five-For-Five: Jamario Thomas's Explosive Debut
6/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
In his first start for North Texas, true freshman running back Jamario Thomas made national headlines with a sensational performance against Colorado.
Thomas had seen limited action in the Mean Green's first two games of the season, but got the call to start against the Buffaloes.
On his first carry of the game - and only the third of his career - Thomas found a hole on the left side and ran 57 yards for the first touchdown of his career. He scored scored his second touchdown of the first quarter a 25-yard to give North Texas a 14-7 lead.
Thomas finished the game with 247 yards, breaking Bernard Jackson's record for most yards rushing by a North Texas freshman. Thomas would break his own record three times that season, topping out at 291 yards against Idaho. Thomas set the NCAA freshman record for 200 yards games, going over that mark five times, and tied the NCAA record for the fastest to reach 1,000 yards when he made it in seven games.
He finished the season with 1,801 yards, which still stands as the single-season record in Mean Green history, and his average of 180.1 yards per game was No. 1 in the nation. He was selected to the Football Writers Association of America Scripps Freshman All-America team and was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
