Jakobe Thomas has one notch on his belt that few Hurricanes can mention. He beat Miami earlier in his career.

As a redshirt freshman at Middle Tennessee State, he was part of the team that upset UM in 2022. Three years later, he was anchoring the Hurricanes’ defense.

“It was a fun game,” Thomas said before the 2025 season. “It was the first big game I ever played in, and we were lucky enough to get away with a win here. It was a fun game. We’ll just leave it at that.”

UM fans will surely give him a pass for the 2022 game. He became a key part of Miami’s 2025 defense, and now he is an NFL player. The Minnesota Vikings took him with the 98th pick, the third-to-last selection of the third round of the NFL draft on Friday.

The Hurricanes were the third team Thomas played for. He started his career at Middle Tennessee, spending three seasons with the Blue Raiders. He transferred to Tennessee for the 2024 season and played a rotational role for the Volunteers.

Thomas took his talents to UM for the 2025 season, and he earned a starting role. He had a strong season, racking up 76 tackles, four tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and five interceptions. Two of those interceptions came in a win against N.C. State, and he returned one for a touchdown. Pro Football Focus gave him an 87 defensive grade.

Thomas was a second-team All-ACC selection, and he was named the Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP after making five tackles and deflecting two passes.