from CBS Eye on Recruiting. SIAP
Thomas taking his time in recruiting
The Miami Nike Camp is always known for bringing out South Florida athletes who look like they can play just about every position on the field. Miami (Fla.) linebacker Matthew Thomas certainly impressed as an athlete with a good 6-foot-3 frame and speed to burn to grab MVP honors for Sparq testing score but it was on the field during drills where he impressed most on Sunday.
"The camp was good going against other players one-on-one and doing all the drills before that," Thomas said. "It was a good experience. These guys are from all over the place and it's good for me to compare myself to them. We were real competitive today."
Though his position group wasn't as stacked as previous years, Thomas still had no trouble standing out and competing with anybody he lined up against. With a long wingspan he was able to play well in coverage while also looking strong and quick during one-on-ones. It's easy to see why over 20 schools across the country have extended scholarship offers and why Thomas is slowly coming to grips with the fact that he can play college football just about anywhere he wants.
"It really doesn't matter where I play football at - I'll go to the moon if I could," he said. "I just want to play where I'm comfortable at.
"Recruiting is going fine. I like a couple of schools, I don't like a couple of schools. I like Alabama, Miami, Florida, Florida State."
A commitment does not appear to be in the cards until Signing Day for Thomas, who has already penciled in official visits to Alabama, Florida and Florida State during the fall. Although all three are a few hours away and doing a good job keeping in contact, it is the local school that is making the biggest impression on him just as the May Evaluation period is about to start.
"I would say Miami is recruiting me the hardest because it's close to home," Thomas said. "They've got me on Facebook so they hit me up all the time with messages and I reply back so we've got a good relationship."
Thomas missed the Hurricanes spring game last week because he took the ACT and it's clear that he is looking to put a lot of weight on academics in determining what school he commits to.
"Graduation rate is a priority," he said. "The caliber of program it is, playing time situation, all of that is a factor."
A four-star outside linebacker, Thomas is ranked 41st overall in the recently released Tom Lemming/MaxPreps top 100. While he hasn't had a chance to visit many schools thus far, the plan is to take a few visits before summer arrives so he can see what a few of the in-state options have to offer.
"Before the spring is over, I might try and take a visit to Florida State," said Thomas. "And Florida. But no camps."