Showboats' Thomas Makes National TV Debut

MEMPHIS – Showboats center Jared Thomas had a full-circle moment earlier this fall, making his national television debut as a color analyst for the Northwestern Wildcats’ season-opening victory over Miami (Ohio) on Big Ten Network.

Thomas holds a journalism degree from Northwestern and received some behind-the-scenes experience with the Big Ten Network as a student, but had set his aspirations in broadcasting to the side to focus on football. 

During his time with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons in 2023, Thomas received some encouragement from Cody Brennan, the founder of search firm Franklin Craft, who spoke to a number of players about their plans for life after football. Brennan looked at Thomas’ resume and encouraged him to look for opportunities in broadcasting, which led to working a number of local broadcasts in Indianapolis, Thomas’ hometown.

Just days after the Showboats’ season finale, a victory over the Houston Roughnecks, Thomas reached out to the Big Ten Network to see if there might be an opportunity for him. Thomas said it was a life lesson in persistence and working toward a goal that was rewarded later that summer.

“I got a call about six weeks before the (season) opener and they said, ‘Hey, it's yours if you want it,’” Thomas recalls. “And I was like, absolutely. If I didn't reach out, like I was encouraged to, if I didn't remain persistent, I wouldn't have even got that opportunity to do a game.

Not only did the offensive-lineman-turned-broadcaster  receive that opportunity, but by all accounts he delivered the equivalent of a pancake block leading to a game-winning touchdown. Thomas was paired with highly-regarded Big Ten Network play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington, also a Northwestern alum, who became the first woman to serve in that role in a BTN football broadcast back in 2017.

“I was just so impressed with him,” Byington said. “It didn't seem to me like it was his first time. There was not a moment when we were doing the game or prepping for the game … that I felt like, man, this is his first time calling the game. And that's the best compliment I can give. He was so smooth, he was so comfortable. So he just delivered, like he was prepping to play a game and then the game came and he just knocked it out of the park. I just thought he did an incredible job.”

Thomas received positive feedback from BTN executives as well. He heard from BTN’s Vice President for Remote Production Alex Bertsche in the days following the game, who praised his work.

“We had a phone call a couple days later and he said I did great,” Thomas said. “Especially for my first time on the network. He had a couple of things just about the flow of the game, which, if I didn't get any type of feedback in that way, I would have probably been a little concerned because I feed off the coaching and the feedback, but everything went great.”

Thomas and Byington both remarked about how “cool” it was for Thomas to have his national television debut for their alma mater.

“When I committed to play at Northwestern, I went there with the sense of this is a great academic school, I get to compete in the Big Ten and I'm close to home,” Thomas said. “Never in a million years did I think I'll be calling my alma mater’s season opener. When I had time to reflect, it was a full circle moment for me to understand this is why you go to a place like Northwestern. This is why you continue to relentlessly pursue the dreams and aspirations to put yourself in position to do some cool things.”

“It was really cool that his first time was at Northwestern,” Byington said. “For him to broadcast it with, with their new temporary field, which is an absolutely amazing backdrop for a football game and was actually his practice field, I know everything went full circle for him. He just did such an incredible, great job that I walked away just so, so impressed by him."

While Thomas isn’t ready to hang up his cleats, the experience stoked the fire for him to continue working toward his goal of a future in broadcasting.

“I definitely have aspirations as a player but, even as a media analyst to one day be on the NFL stage, I understand the complexity that comes with even having that type of aspiration,” Thomas said. “But why not? I mean, I think crazier things have happened.Not too many people are calling games while they're still playing. So I'm gonna continue to ride the unicorn train and put myself in a position to at least have a seat at the table at some point in time.”

Byington, for one, believes he has what it takes.

“I think he is more than capable of making TV a career,” she said. “He obviously understands the game really, really well. But as a broadcaster, you have to not only just … understand the game, you have to communicate the game in a short amount of time. It's a lot harder than what people realize. You have to be interesting. You have to be clear, you have to be concise. That is something that takes time. Some people get it. Some people don't. But Jared is a guy who got it out of the gate. He just has that gift of being able to communicate in a concise and clear manner that you need to have as a television football analyst.”