It seemed like Oklahoma wide receivers coach Emmett Jones was struggling to put into words just how incredible freshman Elijah Thomas is as Jones went on and on about the young phenom.
Jones met with local media after OU's practice on Tuesday, when he was asked about Thomas, who has had a lot of buzz coming out of the Sooners' fall camp. While trying to describe Thomas' ability and what Jones has seen at practice already, Jones made a comparison to NFL star Malik Nabers that deserved a second listen.
Emmett Jones compares Elijah Thomas to Malik Nabers
Nabers had one of the best rookie seasons the NFL has ever seen last year with the New York Giants. Even with poor quarterback play, Nabers caught a rookie record 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven TDs to make the Pro Bowl in his debut season. He was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU.
"That's Malik Nabers right there," Jones said of Thomas. "I think he's gonna have a little bit of that athletic ability in him, but this program will instill you with different DNA. He's just so explosive. Learns fast, takes good notes, man. Never really makes the same mistake.
"We put a lot of pressure on him to see how he will respond. He's responding well. I try to break him on the field, try to break him in the classroom. I can't break him at all. He's got natural ball skills. Like I said, he's so explosive. His catch range and his radius is ridiculous, man."
#Sooners WR coach Emmett Jones - listen until the end for what NFL player Elijah Thomas has been compared to. pic.twitter.com/QwQ7lApmlA
— Mason Young (@Mason_Young_0) August 19, 2025
Thomas signed with the Sooners as a consensus four-star recruit and the most exciting player in the 2024 class after doing it all at Checotah High School in Oklahoma. Although primarily a receiver, Thomas, listed at 6-foot and 190 pounds, also lined up at running back, quarterback, defensive back and even crept up to the edge at times during his senior year with Checotah.
UNBELIEVABLE ‼️
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) October 18, 2024
Elijah Thomas will NOT be denied on this #SCTop10-worthy touchdown catch. He leaves a trail of futile defenders in his wake as he bullies his way to the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.
Checotah leads 32-27 with 3:30 to play. pic.twitter.com/0AX4UCfEnw
Similar to what we saw from Thomas' high school tape, Jones shared a legend of Thomas catching a screen pass during a recent practice before taking it 80 yards in three seconds.
"Just a freak of nature," Jones added after that story.
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