UNLV Will Go as Far as Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas Takes It in 2026

LAS VEGAS — Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas added another national honor Monday when he was named one of 50 players to the 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List.

It is the latest recognition for the UNLV senior running back. Thomas is also a repeat selection on the Maxwell Award Watch List, a member of the official Preseason All-Mountain West team and a first-team all-conference selection by Phil Steele. He enters the season with 2,457 career rushing yards, 31 rushing touchdowns and first-team All-Mountain West honors from last year.

Thomas has spent most of August in a different position than many of the players around him. Dan Mullen is still evaluating jobs and rotations throughout the offense. He already knows where Thomas fits.

“I don’t need to see Jet run a lot,” Mullen said. “I’ve seen him run a lot on a game day. I gotta get him game ready. He doesn’t have to go prove to earn his reps.”

Three seasons of production explain why.

Thomas arrived at UNLV in 2023 and rushed for 503 yards while setting a program freshman record with 12 rushing touchdowns. His first 100-yard game came at UTEP, where he carried 13 times for 100 yards and scored four touchdowns.

He followed that with 918 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 2024, earning second-team All-Mountain West honors. Thomas also started contributing outside the traditional running back role, catching a touchdown against Kansas and returning a kickoff 90 yards for a score against Fresno State.

His production increased again last season. Thomas started all 13 games and rushed for 1,036 yards and 12 touchdowns on 148 attempts, averaging 7 yards per carry.

The bigger change came in the passing game. Thomas caught 39 passes for 237 yards and another touchdown after totaling 18 receptions during his first two seasons combined. He finished second on the team in receptions and set a UNLV record for a running back with 11 catches against New Mexico.

Thomas also reached 1,000 rushing yards without needing a heavy weekly workload. He averaged fewer than 12 carries per game and ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries against Idaho State, 131 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts against Colorado State and 103 yards with four touchdowns on 11 carries against UNR.

Mullen can get Thomas involved without simply handing him the ball more. The receiving production gives UNLV another option out of the backfield, and Thomas has already shown he can turn limited carries into big games.

He has also been part of UNLV’s entire three-year run. The Rebels have reached the Mountain West championship game in each of his three seasons and won 30 games during that stretch.

Thomas had opportunities to leave after his first 1,000-yard season. He chose another year at UNLV.

“From day one, this was the first school that gave me an opportunity to play here,” Thomas told The Scarlet Standard at Mountain West Football Media Days. “I kept that really dear to me. Showcasing my ability in Vegas has been a really great opportunity these past couple of years, and I’m very excited for this fall.”

His final season also puts several UNLV career marks within reach. Thomas enters the year eighth in program history with 2,457 rushing yards and fifth with 31 rushing touchdowns. He has nine career 100-yard rushing games and needs 543 yards to reach 3,000.

Thomas was not keeping close track of where he stood when The Scarlet Standard asked him about the numbers at Media Days.

“I didn’t even know,” Thomas said. “Now it puts a little bit more fuel in my tank.”

His goals go beyond the UNLV record book. Thomas said the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation’s top running back, is the individual honor he wants most.

“My number one goal is the Doak Walker Award,” Thomas said. “That’s something I want dearly, just to put my name up nationally, not just in the Mountain West, so I can compete against the top running backs in the nation.”

The Walter Camp and Maxwell selections give Thomas some of that national attention before the season starts. UNLV has more immediate work to finish before Memphis arrives Aug. 29.

Mullen has not named Jackson Arnold or Alex Orji the starting quarterback. He has said both will play, and the Rebels are now working through their Memphis game plan without publicly defining how the snaps will be divided.

Wide receiver is still being sorted out. Mullen has said it is the position where UNLV lost the most production, and several players are expected to get early opportunities once the games begin.

The offensive line has been moving pieces, too. Austin Boyd has shifted to center, and Louie Addazio has spent camp working through combinations while trying to settle on the five players he wants together.

Thomas has not been part of the same daily uncertainty. Mullen has limited some of his work because there is not much left for the staff to learn about him in practice.

That becomes useful against Memphis. Arnold and Orji are still working through the quarterback plan, the receivers will need game reps and Addazio is still settling the line. Thomas can line up behind either quarterback and give UNLV something it has already seen work.

His workload does not have to change dramatically for that to matter. Thomas did not need 20 carries a game to reach 1,000 yards last season, and his expanded receiving role gives Mullen another way to use him when defenses commit more attention to the running game.

UNLV also has other options in the backfield, which should keep Thomas from having to handle every important touch. The offense can still change depending on who is at quarterback and which receivers emerge. Thomas gives Mullen a piece that can remain in place while those decisions are made.

There is one result Thomas has not experienced during his three seasons at UNLV.

The Rebels reached the Mountain West championship game in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Thomas played in all three. UNLV left all three without the trophy.

That gives his senior season another goal beyond the watch lists, career numbers and the Doak Walker Award. Thomas has been part of the run that changed expectations around the program. He now gets one more chance to help finish it differently.

Mullen has already seen what Thomas can do on Saturdays. That is why August has been more about managing his workload than deciding whether he belongs in the offense.

The next evaluation comes Aug. 29 against Memphis, when the yards and touchdowns start counting again.