Mike Leach on Rara Thomas: There's a difference between being consistently good and occasionally great

On3 imageby:Alex Weber10/04/22

Mississippi State wide receiver Rara Thomas is off to an exceptional start to his sophomore season with the Bulldogs. And as a wideout in a team coached by Mike Leach, Thomas was destined to thrive.

As a freshman, he racked up 252 yards and five touchdowns on just 18 total catches across only seven games which he appeared in. Thomas was used sporadically within the Bulldog offense a year ago, but when he was targeted, the talented youngster made the most of the opportunities. So far this season, he’s doing the exact same, just with far more targets.

Through five games, Thomas is up to 20 catches for 359 yards and three scores while averaging 18 yards a catch. He is busting defenses up left and right. Yet his head coach believes there’s a much higher ceiling for Thomas to scratch if he can just perform more consistently.

“This year, I think he’s improving. I think he has to get more consistent. He has to be able to string together one good day at work after the next,” Leach said of Rara Thomas when asked about the second-year receiver at a press conference this week. He then continued, speaking on why consistency is the separator between good and great players.

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“And I also think that, you know, sometimes players need to understand the difference between being consistently good and occasionally great. I mean, it’s easy to, you know, have a great play here or there and think all right, well that’s it…and, you know, cruise along. But that, you know, the most valuable guys, guys [who are] consistently good. The guy that you can count on every play. But I think he’s getting better and I think that he’s dangerous when he’s got the ball. He’s faster than he looks and he’s got a lot of range.”

Obviously, still a ton of time for Thomas to round out and develop into a more consistently great player. The talent is so clearly there for him. Just needs to commit to bringing that talent to the plate on every single play.