South Alabama tight end DJ Thomas-Jones continues to undergo testing to get at the root cause of and to pinpoint treatment for why he collapsed on the sideline last Saturday vs. Louisiana, Jaguars coach Kane Wommack said Wednesday.

Thomas-Jones, a redshirt sophomore who transferred in from Ole Miss prior to the 2022 season, fell ill early in the third quarter of USA’s 20-17 victory in Lafayette, La. He was treated at a local hospital and released a short time later, and returned home to Mobile that night.

Wommack said Wednesday that it’s possible Thomas-Jones will play again this season, perhaps as soon as the Oct. 15 home game vs. Louisiana-Monroe.

“There’s certainly some more tests, and we want to make sure that we exhaust every avenue to make sure that he is OK before he returns to play,” Wommack said. “But it is certainly outstanding news to this point.

“But we’re hopeful that he can come back as soon as possible.”

Thomas-Jones was present at practice but not dressed out or participating in drills Wednesday, the Jaguars’ first of their bye week. He was not made available for interviews.

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South Alabama football practice

Thomas-Jones — who previously went by Damarcus Thomas or DJ Thomas before adding his stepfather’s surname during the offseason — had similar medical episodes during his time at Saraland High School and at Ole Miss. During the Ole Miss incident, he collapsed during practice and team officials first believed he’d suffered a neck or spinal injury, which was later revealed to not be the case.

Wommack said it’s not yet certain that Saturday’s incident, in which he temporarily lost movement and sensation in his limbs, was exactly the same in nature as previous episodes. South Alabama trainers and on-site doctors worked on Thomas-Jones for some 15 minutes before loading him first onto a stretcher and then onto a motorized cart to take him from the field.

Wommack said Thomas-Jones seems more or less back to normal, and he certainly appeared to be moving well and interacting with teammates normally on Wednesday. Team doctors will continue to evaluate him in the coming days.

“So far, we see a clean bill of health,” Wommack said. “He’s good, in terms of all the things that you worry about, (including) his heart and his brain. So I think we’re in a good position.”

Thomas-Jones has been part of South Alabama’s tight end rotation in all five games this season, catching seven passes for 79 yards. He scored his first career touchdown in the first quarter of a 38-24 victory over Central Michigan on Sept. 10.

South Alabama (4-1, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) hosts ULM at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 in a game that will be televised by NFL Network.