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LB Thomas primed for impact
Bruising tackler
bringing knack for disrupting offenses to Dowdy-Ficklen
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By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
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Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
Danny Thomas could be considered a
football nomad because he'll have played for three different schools
before graduating from high school. But while Thomas's location has
changed frequently, his production on the field has been steadily
spectacular.
An outside linebacker who has
produced an amazing 64 tackles for losses over the last two seasons,
Thomas has caught the eyes of more than a dozen major college football
programs that have offered scholarships a full summer before the start
of his senior year. But the 6-foot-2, 220-pound product from south
Florida turned down all those offers on May 23 to join East Carolina's
recruiting Class of 2015.
The decision ended a brief, but
intense courtship by the Pirates, who first made contact with Thomas
last December before extending a scholarship in January after West
Virginia and Southern Methodist had already offered. ECU head coach
Ruffin McNeill eventually sealed the verbal commitment by adding a
personal touch in recruiting Thomas.
"Their head coach and defensive
coordinator (Rick Smith) came down in like January,'' Thomas said. "Our
coaches put on my (highlight) film. They (McNeill and Smith) said they
loved me and offered on the spot. I didn't know much about East Carolina
at that point.
"But after that (offer), the head
coach was recruiting me. I didn't really appreciate that until I started
getting recruited by some other schools. East Carolina was the only one
where the head coach was recruiting me. He told me about their program,
what I could achieve there and how I could help out their team. He
basically said I could come in and make an impact early. He told me what
a good education I could get at East Carolina.
"That's the type of person I want to
play for.''
Thomas became the fifth player to
make his pledge to ECU — a sixth followed five days later when Mauldin,
SC, receiver Taz Richardson joined the class. He's the third defensive
player and second linebacker to commit to ECU (Abu
Kai Kai from Nokesville, VA, was first linebacker).
Making a college choice before the
start of his senior season was important to Thomas for a couple of
reasons. First, he's moved to Tallahassee, FL, where he'll join the
program at powerhouse Godby High School, which won the most recent of
its four state titles in 2012.
Second, Thomas is planning to
graduate from high school in December so he can enroll at East Carolina
for the spring semester in January. He'll make his first visit to
Greenville for the Pirates' summer camp later this month.
"I wanted to be able to focus on my
senior season and help us win a state championship,'' said Thomas, who
got his start on the football field at age five in the local youth
leagues. He's been influenced heavily by a family boasting a strong
football tradition.
His uncle, Eric Thomas, is a former
All-American high school quarterback in Florida. Cousins Kadeem and
Khalid Thomas both signed to play football for Kentucky, although both
were dismissed from the program in 2013. Both have since transferred to
NCAA Division II Alabama State.
Thomas' older brother, Ja'karri
Thomas, is a junior linebacker at Vanderbilt, while another brother,
Denzel Rodriguez, played in the junior college ranks at Ellsworth
Community College.
"Playing football is in my blood,''
Thomas said. "Everybody in my family plays, so I started playing at an
early age. There was a lot to live up to, but I think I've done pretty
good so far making my family proud.''
Thomas first started to make a name
for himself on the Florida high school football scene as a freshman and
sophomore starter for Piper High School in Sunrise, FL. Playing both
running back and linebacker as a sophomore for the Bengals, Thomas
rushed for 526 yards and scored seven touchdowns in 71 carries while
also collecting 87 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Following his sophomore season,
Thomas made the switch last season to Cypress Bay High School in Weston,
FL, where he became one of the state's best defenders. He made an
auspicious debut with the Lightning in a nationally-televised season
opener against Plantation High by making a one-handed interception of a
pass thrown by nationally-ranked quarterback prospect Torrance Gibson
and returning it five yards for a touchdown.
Although Cypress Bay wound up on the
losing end of a 38-14 score, Thomas' stock suddenly took off after that
interception and a play later in the game when he shot through the line
and nearly disrupted a handoff in the backfield before dropping the back
for a five-yard loss.
Some compared the backfield play to
the one made by South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney in the 2013 Outback
Bowl.
"People have compared that to Clowney
a thousand times,'' Thomas said. "I did hit the kid pretty hard. But
that's how I play. I play with intensity, I'm passionate and I'm a big
hitter.''
Thomas completed his junior season
with 111 total tackles, 14 quarterback sacks and an incredible 43
tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The performance earned him a spot
on Friday Night Football Florida's All-South Florida Regional Elite
first team, first-team All-Broward County 8-A/6-A from the Miami Herald
and second-team all-state honors from The Associated Press.
In order to be closer to more of his
family, Thomas made the difficult decision to leave Cypress Bay after
one season for the move to Tallahassee and Godby for his senior year. He
had hoped to play at Godby under former Alabama and Florida State
assistant Ronnie Cottrell, who as head coach at Godby worked with his
cousins Kadeem and Khalid. But Cottrell resigned in early April and has
since taken a job at Chickasaw High in Alabama.
Thomas is expected to spend just one
semester at Godby before heading to ECU.
"I'm just going to keep working hard
to get better and stronger so I can become the ultimate player at
(ECU),'' Thomas said.
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06/02/2014 03:42 PM |
