Noel Thomas

Wide receiver for UConn. 2016: 100 catches, 1,179 receiving yards, 3 TD.

WR · UConn · #5

6′1″ · Norwalk, CT

UConn 2016 alumnus

The story

2016 wide receiver for UConn. 2016: 100 catches, 1,179 receiving yards, 3 TD.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at UConn, 2,203 receiving yards — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

The week the volume broke through — put up 165 yds vs UCF.UCF · L 16-242016

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

UConn

2014–2016

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2014–2016

1 coach

2014–2016

Bob Diaco

UConn

Played his entire career under Bob Diaco.

2016 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Bob Diaco — 11-26 over that span.

2014UConn2-10HC: Bob Diaco · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2015UConn6-7HC: Bob Diaco · Run-leaning

2016UConn3-9HC: Bob Diaco · Balanced

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score percentiles

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: receptions (99th percentile). Strength: rec yards (96th percentile).

Box-score rates (8)

Receptions#4 / 524 · 99th pct

100

Rec yards#22 / 524 · 96th pct

1179

Rush yards#53 / 257 · 79th pct

Long catch#163 / 524 · 69th pct

Rec TDs#199 / 524 · 56th pct

Fumbles lost#80 / 216 · 40th pct

Rush TDs#56 / 257 · 39th pct

Yards / catch#346 / 524 · 33rd pct

11.8

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2016 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home7g	8.6	91.0	10.8	0.1
Road5g	8.0	108	14.0	0.4

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	9.6	108	12.4	0.4
Weeks 8+5g	6.6	84.2	11.9	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Jason Candle

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2016

Part-time starter

Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2016	UConn	100	1,179	11.8	3	--
2015	UConn	54	719	13.3	3	--
2014	UConn	26	305	11.7	4	--
Career		180	2,203	12.2	10	--

Season	Team
2016	UConn	13	60	--	--	--
2015	UConn	5	22	--	--	--
2014	UConn	--	--	--	--	--
Career		18	82	--	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2016

W 24–21

vs Maine

9 rec · 70 yds

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.

With B. Shirreffs — 162 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 71.5 · 95 rush yds (20 car) · J. Wain — 42 AVG · 51 LONG · 5 NO

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2016 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 24-21vs Maine	9	70	7.8	0	18
Wk 2	L 24-28@ Navy	11	116	10.5	1	34
Wk 3	W 13-10vs Virginia	6	91	15.2	0	23
Wk 4	L 24-31vs Syracuse	14	111	7.9	0	18
Wk 5	L 14-42@ Houston	6	135	22.5	1	62	135-yard receiving day
Wk 6	W 20-9vs Cincinnati	9	108	12.0	1	26
Wk 7	L 27-42@ South Florida	12	127	10.6	0	23
Wk 8	L 16-24vs UCF	9	165	18.3	0	33	Season-high 165 yds
Wk 9	L 3-41@ East Carolina	7	135	19.3	0	49	135-yard receiving day
Wk 10	L 0-21vs Temple	4	32	8.0	0	12
Wk 12	L 0-30@ Boston College	4	29	7.3	0	20
Wk 13	L 13-38vs Tulane	9	60	6.7	0	16
Total		100	1179	12.2	3	62

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology