UAB football transfer Tyler Thomas has officially landed at South Alabama, AL.com has confirmed.
The 6-foot-4, 246-pound Thomas, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman, joins twin brother Trent on the Jaguars’ 2024 roster. Trent Thomas (6-5, 246) is a redshirt freshman tight end at South.
Tyler Thomas played in four games for the Blazers in 2023, recording one tackle. He was able to retain a redshirt year, leaving him with four seasons of eligibility.
The Thomas twins starred in both football and basketball at Mobile’s Cottage Hill Christian Academy, reaching the Class 3A South Regional final in basketball as seniors in 2022-23 (their father, Adam Thomas, is the Warriors’ head basketball coach and athletics director). Tyler was a first-team Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State selection in both sports that year, while Trent was a first-team pick in football and a second-team pick in basketball.
The Thomases will be among two sets of twins on the South Alabama roster this fall, a rarity in college sports. Devin Voisin (a starting wide receiver) and twin brother Jaden (an All-Sun Belt Conference safety) are back for their sixth seasons with the Jaguars in 2024.
Tyler Thomas is the 10th scholarship player to join the South Alabama football team out of the transfer portal during the 2024 post-spring window, along with running back Iverson Celestine (Tulane), wide receiver Micah Woods (Buffalo), tight end Rod Gibbs (Texas Southern), offensive linemen Ethan Hubbard (Duke) and Jayden Hobson (Mississippi State), defensive lineman Tre Brown (Texas Tech), outside linebacker Courtney McBride (Florida Atlantic), inside linebacker Darius McKenzie (Maine) and safety Trent Singleton (Mississippi State). All are enrolled in summer classes and participating in offseason workouts.
South Alabama — which went 7-6 in 2023 — begins preseason camp in early August and opens the 2024 season at home Aug. 31 vs. North Texas.
Twin brothers Trent Thomas, left, and Tyler Thomas, right, are shown with their father, Cottage Hill Christian basketball coach Adam Thomas, on national signing day 2022. Tyler originally signed with UAB, but has transferred to South Alabama to join Trent on the Jaguars' football team. (Ben Thomas | bthomas@al.com)