The Wisconsin Badgers bolstered the second level of their defense and coach Luke Fickell recruited a friendly face with the commitment of former Arkansas linebacker Jaheim Thomas on Thursday.
Thomas declared his intention to transfer to the Badgers on social media. The Badgers haven’t formally announced Thomas’ transfer, but their athletics account retweeted his post.
Thomas formerly played for Fickell at Cincinnati, before the coach moved on to take over the Badgers. After Fickell left, Thomas transferred to Arkansas to play under Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman last season.
With the Razorbacks, Thomas fit right in, leading the Hogs with 90 tackles. He also had 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
Thomas was one of the many players Fickell was able to keep him when he was with the Bearcats. The former four-star recruit out of Princeton High School in Cincinnati was the state’s No. 5 player when he chose the Bearcats over Michigan State, Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland and Louisville.
After redshirting in 2020, he got his first significant playing time as a backup on the Bearcats’ American Athletic Conference champion and College Football Playoff team, which lost to Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. That season he finished with 23 tackles a half-sack and a quarterback hurry, with a career-high seven tackles against UCF.
With the exodus of Bearcats to the NFL after that season, Thomas broke out with 70 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2022.
He’ll bring that production and his experience working under Fickell to the Badgers, where the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder projects as an inside linebacker.
The Badgers are coming off a 35-31 loss to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Day to finish 7-6 for the season. Fickell will be entering his second year as coach.
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