Ex-UNLV quarterback passes on life lessons

With the temperature north of 100 degrees, former UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas greets his visitors while wearing a T-shirt, Sean John shorts and Jordan athletic shoes -- normal clothes for this time of year in an abnormal place.

Thomas unlocks two doors to go back out into the Las Vegas oven before putting his key into another door to return indoors and to the welcome relief of air conditioning.

But this place provides little comfort for those who temporarily make their home here. Thomas, a probation officer at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center for nearly a year, enters the high-security room.

The boys in this room, ages 14 to 18, usually have been accused of violent crimes or are repeat offenders. Thomas doesn't get into specifics, only to say the range of crimes is from the "top to the bottom."

These are his kids.

"Everybody has a different gang or a different affiliation on the street," Thomas said. "But what I try to preach to them is while we're in here, we've all got to work together."

Thomas is the most high-profile ex-Rebels football player who works at the North Pecos Road facility but far from the only one. Former teammates Ahmad Briggs and Tony Pierce also are probation officers, and Steve Newton makes home visits to a specific area in the valley.

"That's what college is for, is to get your degree and then come back and help the community," said Briggs, a defensive end from 1999 to 2002 who majored in social science studies. "I grew up in the same situation as a lot of these kids did, and I'm looking at myself like the total example of how to do it.

"Find your talent and try to ride that as far as you can go, and I teach that to these kids today."

Briggs, who grew up in urban Dallas, inspired Thomas to become a probation officer. They were roommates at UNLV and decided to enter the eight-week academy together late last year to become certified for their positions.

In addition to sharing a strong friendship, their backgrounds are alike. Thomas, who is from Compton, Calif., learned poor choices can lead to life-shattering results.

"We can go either way depending on the circumstance," Thomas said. "I'm blessed that I've had the circumstances that I've had that I didn't go that way. I sure tiptoed the line, maybe I walked over the line, but I always came back. Some of these kids need to see that the mistakes you make aren't permanent.

"You don't always have to be the bad guy."

Thomas said he believes he is meant to help teens realize they can make positive decisions and is certain that life events led him to work at the juvenile detention center.

He is known to most people as UNLV's quarterback from 2000 through 2002. Thomas took the Rebels to their last winning record (8-5) and postseason appearance (a 31-14 rout of Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl) in 2000, but a shoulder injury helped prevent him from reaching comparable success his final two seasons.

Thomas tried the NFL, Arena Football League, af2 and Canadian Football League but realized his other passion -- helping children -- would become his life's work. His girlfriend, former UNLV volleyball player Blair Wilkes, shares the desire, and she recently began a program to show at-risk and minority children they could have a future in dentistry.

When he began at the juvenile facility last year, Thomas was assigned to a lower-security unit. Officers are shifted every year, and Thomas was placed in high security in December. There are eight units overall, including one for girls.

Thomas usually works with between 20 and 30 boys, who are given daily responsibilities. He holds them accountable, especially making sure they get almost daily exercise, such as pull-ups and sit-ups, to show them the importance of taking care of their bodies.

To these boys, he isn't "J.T.," a former Heisman Trophy candidate once considered the player whom the Rebels would build their football fortunes around. He is "Mr. T," a 27-year-old authority figure to whom they can relate because of his childhood experiences and relative youth.

"I don't even put (being a quarterback) out there," Thomas said. "I try to earn my respect with the kids through my relationships that I build.

"Every kid's different. Every kid comes with their own baggage, and so with that you've got to treat every kid differently -- in a sense. I mean, we all have the same rules."

Because a society exists on rules, Thomas knows those he supervises need to learn how to live by them now if they are to contribute rather than detract from society.

"They can come in here for a robbery, a rape and assault, but when they get in here, they want to watch 'SpongeBob,' " Thomas said. "They're still kids."

And so Thomas wears his trendy shorts and shoes, knowing how important an impression is to getting his positive message through to those who badly need one. He also relies on the teens who have been there the longest to tell the newcomers the importance of listening to and following what he says.

"I have kids who are under me and they already know how I work, so when a new kid comes in, they'll tell them, 'Mr. Thomas is cool; don't even worry about him,' " he said. "Even if I had a bad rapport with a kid initially, after a while, for the most part, they all see that I'm here to help them."