Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 33-20vs Oregon State | 8 | 133 | 16.6 | 1 | 37 | Season-high 133 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 77-6vs Southern | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | L 26-28@ Texas Tech | 7 | 75 | 10.7 | 1 | 17 | |
| Total | 18 | 237 | 12.3 | 3 | 37 |
Amare Thomas
Amare Thomas tied for the Big 12 lead in touchdowns and led every returning receiver in slot scores. He re-signed with his quarterback to run it back as Houston's go-to weapon -- the man they throw it to when it matters.
6′0″ · 205 lb · Birmingham, AL · Pinson HS
CFB Index 85 · #17 of 485 WRsHigh confidence
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
237
receiving yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 10 rec · 99 yds · 3 TD -- top 1% catches game. -- Best game: 7 rec, 75 yds, 1 TD, at Texas Tech
The play that turned itSwung Houston from 19% to 60% to win.West Virginia at Houston · 45-35
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Amare Thomas tied for the Big 12 lead in touchdowns and led every returning receiver in slot scores. He re-signed with his quarterback to run it back as Houston's go-to weapon -- the man they throw it to when it matters.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to UAB in 2023.
- Transferred from UAB to Houston in 2025.
Buzz vs Tape
Country hotter than the fans
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 28.3 points in belief.
41.7own fans
70national conversation
The story
The UAB transfer broke out in 2025: roughly 966 yards, 12 touchdowns to tie for the Big 12 lead, first-team All-Big 12, and a league-best nine slot touchdowns among returning receivers -- a separator where games are decided. He and quarterback Conner Weigman both came back, keeping Houston's most dangerous connection intact. The forward stakes are a breakout into a genuine NFL-prospect profile: he's already a proven scorer, and 2026 is about expanding from red-zone specialist to full-field No. 1. For Houston, he's the weapon the offense leans on when it needs points.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The week the volume broke through — put up 157 yds at Oklahoma State.Oklahoma State · W 39-172025
Thomas is a scoring-and-explosive-play receiver, strongest where it counts. Our play-by-play likes the big stuff -- an 82nd-percentile yards-per-catch, an 80th-percentile explosive-catch rate, and an 84th-percentile EPA per target -- and the real-world signature is the nine slot touchdowns, the trait of a receiver who wins the leverage and separation battles inside the 20. The catch rate is more ordinary (48th percentile), the mark of a vertical, contested-leaning target rather than a high-volume possession type. He's a chunk-play and red-zone specialist -- the guy who turns a third-down target into six points -- and the growth edge is the underneath consistency that rounds him into an every-down No. 1.
Written by our staff.
202311 games
- Signed with UAB3-star out of Pinson Valley
202513 games
- Entered the portal
- All-Big 12first
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥈
ALL-BIG 12 · 1ST TEAM
All-Big 12 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coaches2023–2024
Houston
Coaching transition mid-career: Dana Holgorsen → Willie Fritz. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Career stats
Game log
Game by game
Amare Thomas's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 77–6
vs Southern
3 rec · 29 yds · 1 TD
Dominant 71-point win at home against Southern.
With K. Henderson — 83 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 23.8 · 54 rush yds (1 car) · 1 TD · C. Weigman — 120 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 48.3 · 6 rush yds (1 car)
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.42(08:24) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short right to #0 A.Thomas caught at OSU24, for 31 yards to the OSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:13, 1ST DOWN #49 J.Dimas kick attempt failed (H: #15 J.Sock, LS: #69 W.Edwards), End Of Play
- Week 3 · Texas Tech · 3&8 · Q1 · EPA +3.01Amare Thomas 11 Yd pass from Conner Weigman (Jonathan Dimas Kick)
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 3&6 · Q4 · EPA +2.85(06:21) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete deep left to #0 A.Thomas caught at OSU08, for 37 yards to the OSU05 (#8 S.Vadrawale III), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 3&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.62(10:11) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short right to #0 A.Thomas caught at HOU43, for 13 yards to the HOU47 (#8 S.Vadrawale III), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Southern · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.62(00:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short left to #0 A.Thomas caught at SU03, for 8 yards to the SU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:28, 1ST DOWN #49 J.Dimas kick attempt good (H: #15 J.Sock, LS: #69 W.Edwards)
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 2&11 · Q4 · EPA +2.53(07:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short middle to #0 A.Thomas caught at HOU46, for 15 yards to the OSU46 (#36 D.Vickers), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Texas Tech · 3&9 · Q2 · EPA +2.12(13:16) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short right to #0 A.Thomas caught at HOU28, for 12 yards to the HOU38 (#7 B.Jordan), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Texas Tech · 2&8 · Q3 · EPA +1.83(11:49) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short left to #0 A.Thomas caught at HOU25, for 17 yards to the HOU38 (#13 B.Roberts), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 2&1 · Q4 · EPA +1.64(15:00) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short right to #0 A.Thomas caught at HOU40, for 27 yards to the OSU38 (#8 S.Vadrawale III), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Texas Tech · 3&5 · Q4 · EPA +1.23(02:07) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 C.Weigman pass complete short middle to #0 A.Thomas caught at HOU27, for 11 yards to the HOU28 (#7 B.Jordan), 1ST DOWN
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +75 receiving yards, +7 catches, +1 receiving TD.
Season context · Team result + system
2023UAB4-8HC: Trent Dilfer · Balanced
2024UAB3-9HC: Trent Dilfer · Balanced
2025Houston10-3HC: Willie Fritz · Run-leaning
2026Houston2-1HC: Willie Fritz · Run-leaning
Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: epa / target (82nd percentile). Strength: rec tds (85th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (5)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / target
85th → 82nd percentile
Explosive rate
60th → 48th percentile
Catch rate
48th → 58th percentile
TD rate
48th → 50th percentile
Yards / catch
68th → 52nd percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Receiving profile
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
18 of 18 receptions matched to play-by-play
25 of 26 targets charted for true throw depth
Targets
2630% of team targetsCatch rate
69%18 of 26 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
12% of targets (3)
100%catch rate
Air -4.0 · YAC 8.7 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
56% of targets (14)
79%catch rate
Air 4.8 · YAC 9.1 avg
Middle · 10–19 air yds
24% of targets (6)
33%catch rate
Air 11.7 · YAC 0.5 avg
Deep · 20+ air yds
8% of targets (2)
50%catch rate
Air 27.0 · YAC 3.0 avg
69% catch rate on 26 targets · 30% of the team's targets.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 5.5 | 81.0 | 13.2 | 1.0 |
| Road1g | 7.0 | 75.0 | 10.7 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 6.0 | 79.0 | 12.3 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Fritz
Pass share
42.1%
88 pass / 121 run
Plays / game
69.7
3 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
97 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #2 of 55 Big 12 WRs
How the All-Big 12 estimate is computed
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
One of 52 players who were elite at two different things in 2025. See the others ›
How he plays
Play style
Thomas is a scoring-and-explosive-play receiver, strongest where it counts. Our play-by-play likes the big stuff -- an 82nd-percentile yards-per-catch, an 80th-percentile explosive-catch rate, and an 84th-percentile EPA per target -- and the real-world signature is the nine slot touchdowns, the trait of a receiver who wins the leverage and separation battles inside the 20. The catch rate is more ordinary (48th percentile), the mark of a vertical, contested-leaning target rather than a high-volume possession type. He's a chunk-play and red-zone specialist -- the guy who turns a third-down target into six points -- and the growth edge is the underneath consistency that rounds him into an every-down No. 1.
Our classifier reads him the same way: moves the chains on third down.
Starter
The No. 1,106 recruit in the country is starting at receiver in the Big 12 as a senior.
DNA match
Player DNA
Possession Receiver
Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.
WR
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jalen Royals’s 2024 season.
86%match
All-Mountain WestNFL Rd 4
Matches Jalen on
Height
EPA / play (adj)
Yards / reception
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Neno Lemay’s path through Nicholls.
Matches Neno on
Yards per reception
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Samuel Emilus's senior season at Louisiana Tech (2021).
Matches Samuel on
Total EPA (college ability)
EPA / play (adj)
Weight
Differs from Samuel on
Recruiting rating (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Amare Thomas
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #116
Peaked at #116 this season.
Background
As a Junior (2025) Phil Steele Magazine All-America Honorable Mention All-Big 12 First Team AP All Big 12 First Team Dave Campbell’s All-Texas Second Team Biletnikoff Award Watch List Big 12 All-Academic Team 966 receiving yards are the most by a Cougar since 2022 12 receiving touchdowns are…
The receiver room · Houston
- Amare Thomas966 receiving yards · 2025
- #4Trent Walker823 receiving yards · 2025
- #12Stephon Johnson Jr.275 receiving yards · 2025
- #2Koby Young191 receiving yards · 2025
- #3Harvey Broussard126 receiving yards · 2025
11 more on the roster · Houston team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology