#0 Zavion Thomas Season 2025
• 2024 SEC Academic Honor Roll
• 2022 Freshman All-America, Punt Returner (FWAA)
An elite player with the ball in his hands whether it be on offense or special teams … Enters second season with the Tigers in 2025 after two years at Mississippi State … Prepped at John Ehret High School in New Orleans … Has big-play capability each time the ball touches his hands … Has 3 career returns for touchdowns (2 kickoffs, 1 punt) … Made an immediate impact in his first year at LSU, leading the SEC in kickoff return yards (633) and finishing No. 2 in average (26.4) … Only player on the LSU team to touch the ball 4 different ways in 2024 – rush, reception, punt return and kickoff return … Averaged 14.2 yards every time he touched the football … Finished first year at LSU with 70 total touches for 933 yards and 3 TDs (2 receiving, 1 kickoff return) … Joined the Tigers after 2 years at Mississippi State where he caught 42 passes for 507 yards and a TD … At Mississippi State, returned a kickoff for a TD vs. Texas A&M (94 yards) in 2023 and returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown vs. Georgia in 2022 … In collegiate career, has appeared in 35 games with 11 starts at wide receiver … Played in 22 games with 8 starts at Mississippi State followed by 13 appearances and 3 starts in his first year at LSU … Earned Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-America honors as a punt returner in 2022 … Has scored TDs 4 ways during his college career – reception (2), kickoff return (2), punt return (1), rush (1) … Majoring in interdisciplinary studies … Named to 2024 SEC Academic Honor Roll.
JUNIOR SEASON (2024 at LSU)
Played in all 13 games with 3 starts at receiver … Starts came vs. Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Baylor in the Texas Bowl … Handled kickoff and punt returns for the Tigers as well … Finished with 993 all-purpose yards (633 kickoff returns, 218 receiving, 76 rushing, 66 punt returns) … Only LSU player to touch the ball in all four of those areas in 2024 … Led the SEC in kickoff return yards with 633 on 24 returns (26.4 average) … Returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD in Texas Bowl win over Baylor … The return put the Tigers up 34-14 just before halftime … Had first receiving TD of career on a 4-yard pass from Garrett Nussmeier against Nicholls in the home opener in week 2 … Caught 5 passes for 50 yards in win over Nicholls – both season-highs … Had a 26-yard run vs. South Alabama, the longest of his career … Caught a pair of passes for 36 yards, including a 21-yarder on third-and-13 that resulted in a first down and eventually leading to LSU’s first touchdown of the game in the second quarter … Returned kickoff 50 yards on LSU’s first possession of the game vs. Alabama giving the Tigers the ball at midfield to start the drive that eventually led to a field goal … Had 5 kickoff returns for 143 yards vs. Crimson Tide … Capped season in a big way with a 95-yard kickoff return for a TD in Texas Bowl win over Baylor … TD came after Baylor had cut the LSU lead to 28-14 just before halftime … Finished with 204 all-purpose yards vs. Baylor – a career best … Added 30 receiving yards, 17 punt returns yards and 2 rushing yards vs. the Bears.
SOPHOMORE SEASON (2023 at Mississippi State)
Appeared in 11 games while making eight starts … Caught 40 passes for 503 yards and one touchdown … Averaged 45.7 yards per game … Finished second on the team in both yards and receptions … Averaged 5.6 receptions per game following the Auburn game, after averaging just 2.4 reception in the first five games of the season … Earned his first 100-yard receiving game and caught his first career touchdown at Auburn … His 503 receiving yards ranked 28th in the SEC, while his 45.7 per game average ranked 20th … He earned his highest offense grade of the season (85.3) at Auburn, his next best was against Ole Miss (77.4) according to PFF … Arizona (9/9): Made his season debut … Returned one punt for 25 yards … LSU (9/16): Made his first career start at wide receiver … Caught three passes for 52 yards … Set career highs in receptions (3), receiving yards (52) and longest catch (22) … Recorded his first career rushing attempt, earning two yards … at South Carolina (9/23): Caught 5 passes for 56 yards … Set career highs in receptions (5), and receiving yards (56) … Returned one kick for 14 yards … Returned three punts for 19 total yards … Alabama (9/30): Caught one pass for eight yards … Returned three kicks for a total of 73 yards … Western Michigan (10/7): Had one catch for 15 yards … Returned 4 punt for a total of 48 yards … His 48 punt return yards are a career high in a game … at Arkansas (10/21): Caught two passes for 23 yards … Returned one punt for 31 yards … at Auburn (10/28): Caught nine passes for 112 yards and a touchdown … This was his first career 100-yard receiving game … Also caught his first touchdown pass of his career … Kentucky (11/4): Caught six passes for 44 yards … His six catches were a team-high … Added two rushes for three yards … at Texas A&M (11/11): Caught four passes for 39 yards … Has caught a pass in eight consecutive games … Ran the ball once for three yards … Returned two kicks for 115 yards and a touchdown … Returned the opening kickoff of the game 94 yards for a touchdown (first career kickoff return touchdown) … First player since Tulu Griffin to total over 100 kickoff return yards in a single game … Southern Miss (11/18): Caught three passes for 66 yards … Has caught a pass in nine consecutive games … Had a career long 35-yard reception … Ran the ball three times for 14 yards … Ole Miss (11/23): Caught six passes for 88 yards … Has caught a pass in ten consecutive games … His six catches led the team … This was his fourth career game with five or more receptions … Ran the ball three times for 14 yards … Returned three punts for a total of 24 yards.
FRESHMAN SEASON (2022 at Mississippi State)
Named to the FWAA Freshman All-America Team as a Punt Returner … Appeared in 11 games … Finished with 15 punt returns for an average of 13.5 yards, good for fifth in the nation and second in the SEC … Also tied the SEC lead with one punt return touchdown … at Arizona (9/10): Returned two punts with 29 yards including one 20-yard return in his MSU debut … Returned a total of 15 punts for 202 yards … at LSU(9/17): Returned a pair of punts for an average of 24.0 yards per return … Bowling Green (9/24): Returned a kickoff 21 yards … Texas A&M (10/1): Returned one punt for five yards … Arkansas (10/8): Had a pair of punt returns for an average of 6.0 yards per return … Georgia (11/12): Returned a punt 63-yards for a touchdown … ETSU (11/19): Hauled in his first two career receptions for a total of four yards … Returned a kickoff 27 yards … at Ole Miss (11/24): Returned two punts a total of 34 yards … Had his two kickoff returns go for a total of 47 yards.
HIGH SCHOOL
Prepped at John Ehret High School under head coach Reggie Rogers … Four-star prospect per ESPN, 247Sports and On3 … Considered a three-star prospect by Rivals … Rated as ESPN’s No. 22 prospect out of Louisiana and No. 14 in the state by 247Sports … Finished his senior season with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards … Totaled 1,025 receiving yards on 37 catches with 18 touchdowns … Rushed for 779 yards and six touchdowns … Also returned punts, taking three back for touchdowns while collecting 379 yards … Earned first team all-district honors as a junior … Collected 45 receptions for 1,050 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior … Also competed in track, where he clocked an 11.08 in the 100m as a junior and ran on the state’s sixth place finishing 4x100m relay.
Zavion Thomas’ Career Highs
Receiving
Receptions: 9 at Auburn, 2023 (Mississippi State)
Yards: 112 at Auburn, 2023 (Mississippi State)
TDs: 1, 3x (Last: vs. UCLA, 2024)
Long Reception: 35 vs. Southern Miss, 2023 (Mississippi State)
Rushing
Attempts: 3, 2x (Last: vs. Ole Miss, 2023) (Mississippi State)
Yards: 26 vs. South Alabama, 2024
Long Rush: 26 vs. South Alabama, 2024
Kickoff Returns
Returns: 4 vs. Baylor, 2024 Texas Bowl
Yards: 155 vs. Baylor, 2024 Texas Bowl
Long Kickoff Return: 95 (TD) vs. Baylor, 2024 Texas Bowl
Punt Returns
Returns: 4 vs. Western Michigan, 2023 (Mississippi State)
Yards: 71 vs. Georgia, 2022 (Mississippi State)
Long Punt Return: 63 (TD) vs. Georgia, 2022 (Mississippi State)
Zavion Thomas’ Career 100-Yard Receiving Games (1)
2023
112 (9 rec.) at Auburn, Oct. 28
Zavion Thomas’ Career 150-yard All-Purpose Games (3)
2024
204 vs. Baylor (Texas Bowl), Dec. 31
• 155 KOR, 30 Rec., 2 rush, 16 PR
170 vs. Nicholls, Sept. 7
• 114 KOR, 50 Rec., 6 PR
169 vs. Alabama, Nov. 9
• 143 KOR, 18 rush, 11 rec., -3 PR