Today, we start off our season recaps with our player season recaps. First up is a pair of No.1s, senior wide receiver Jalen Camp and sophomore cornerback Juanyeh Thomas.
With the 2019 regular season officially over and bowl season about to get under way next week, it’s time to begin recapping Georgia Tech’s 2019 season. There was a lot that went right throughout the season for the Yellow Jackets and there was a lot that went wrong. Over the course of the next few weeks and months, we will breakdown everything that happened this season, how each player performed, and much more.
WR Jalen Camp (Sr.)
Camp in 2019 was expected to have a breakout season as the Yellow Jackets changed their offensive philosophy into a more passing friendly offense. The senior out of Cumming, GA however would struggle to start the season not recording a reception in either of the Jackets first two contests against Clemson or South Florida.
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Camp would finally record his first stats of the season against The Citadel in week three, bringing in three receptions for 71-yards and one touchdown. He’d follow up that strong performance in the week following against Temple, this time recording four receptions for 63-yards.
After a slow start to the season, Camp finally appeared to be turning the corner in the Jackets third and fourth contests of the season. Unfortunately, following the Jackets game against Temple, it was determined that Camp would have surgery for a nagging ailment and that he would be out for the remainder of the season.
The good news for Camp is that despite the injury, he still had the opportunity to redshirt this season. With just four games played, Camp’s redshirt eligibility remained. He’s set to return in 2020 and barring any setbacks should be one of the Yellow Jackets top targets. He’ll enter the season with 38 games played, 19 receptions, 369-yards, and one touchdown.
Overall, 2019 is a bit of disappointing season for Camp, if not just for having to call it a season when it seemed like he was getting his “feet under him”. Camp appeared to be really coming on before the surgery and it would’ve been interesting to see how he could’ve helped the offense down the stretch.
DB Juanyeh Thomas (So.):
After a tremendous true freshman season in 2018 that saw Thomas named a true-freshman All-American as a kicker returner, fans expected Thomas to be a high impact player for the Jackets in 2019.
Unlike 2018, Thomas in 2019 saw most of his time on the field come on defense while he took a step back in his kick return duties. The Niceville, Florida native became a key part of the Jackets secondary in 2019 that finished top-40 in the country in passing yards allowed with an average of 207.7 per game.
Appearing in all 12 games for the Jackets in 2019, Thomas recorded 60 total tackles on the season including 44 solo tackles. Additionally, he recorded five or more tackles seven times including an eight tackle performance against Pittsburgh, a game where he also had his lone interception of the season. A week later, he had another strong showing against a top-25 ranked Virginia Cavaliers squad, recording nine tackles including five solo.
As noted above, Thomas took a step back in his return duties in 2019. After returning 28 kickoffs and five punts in 2018, the former freshman All-American had just one punt return and seven kickoffs in 2019. Interestingly enough, Thomas recorded nearly the same exact return average on kickoffs at 21.2 yards per return (149 total yards). During his freshman All-American season, he returned his 28 kickoffs for 606-yards, an average of 21.6 yards per return.
For Thomas, 2019 certainly was a different season than his freshman year but all in all, it was a quality season for the Florida native. He developed his defensive game quite a bit and still showed the ability to be a dangerous return man when needed.
2020 Outlook:
Thomas is set to return in 2020 as a true junior for the Yellow Jackets and should be once again be the Jackets starting free safety. While he may not see a return to the amount of returns he had as a freshman, he should also remain a viable returner for the Jackets.