BleedGopher
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per this from Scout:
Earnest Thomas took his first official visit to Minnesota on Jan. 22. “It went great,” Thomas said. “I had a fun time. I really like the players and the coaches and the facilities were amazing. The new stadium is incredible and I love the facilities.” The Gophers visit was a family affair for Thomas as he took the visit with his mother, grandmother and aunt. “I’ve got a great relationship..."
Earnest Thomas, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound, three-star safety from St. Mary Prep in Orchard Lake, Mi., took an official visit to Minnesota on Jan. 22 and the Gophers are one of his finalists.
Thomas, ranked as the No. 54 safety in the country by Scout.com, still denies a leader but now favors Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and says that all have offered him. Absent from his final five is UCLA, where Thomas had been previously committed.
“Things changed on my end and that’s how things go sometimes,” Thomas said about why he decommitted from the Bruins. “I feel better about my opportunities at these five than at UCLA, plus I didn’t really see everything when I committed. I feel like decommitting was really the right move and I’m happy I did it.”
But are the Bruins still trying to lure Thomas back? “They were for about a week after I did it,” he said. “But I talked to them and explained how I felt and that I wasn’t going to be going there. I told them I had to move on and they were cool about it.”
So instead, Thomas took his first official visit to Minnesota on Jan. 22. “It went great,” he said. “I had a fun time. I really like the players and the coaches and the facilities were amazing. The new stadium is incredible and I love the facilities.”
The Gophers visit was a family affair for Thomas as he took the visit with his mother, grandmother and aunt. “I’ve got a great relationship with all the coaches (at Minnesota) already,” he said. “I really wanted them to get to know them more and talk with them and spend some time with them. It’s important for me that my family is comfortable with where I go.”
Thomas’ player host at Minnesota was freshman defensive back Kenny Watkins. “He played for Brother Rice (in Detroit) and that’s one of our main rivals,” he said. “I’ve known him for a while. We’re rivals on the field, but friends off the field.”
He admits he was very impressed with the Gophers sense of camaraderie. “I love how the players all hang out together,” he said. “They say they are a band of brothers and it’s true. That really stands out.”
Thomas was late to start taking his official visits and will take his next one on Thursday, Jan. 28 to Illinois and then will go immediately to Wisconsin on Saturday, Jan. 30.
He’ll also be hosting Illinois coach Ron Zook on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Also coming by on Tuesday will be Gophers head coach Tim Brewster. He says he’s already had in-home visits from Michigan and Michigan State last week.
“I’ve been to Michigan and Michigan State a bunch of times already,” he said. “I don’t need to take an official there.”
He says the Wolverines are about one hour from his house, while the Spartans are just a bit farther at one and half hours.
“When I told them I was back on the market, they both jumped right back in,” he said. “That felt good to know that they really want me.”
Despite the Wolverines on-field struggles in ‘09, Thomas thinks the program is moving in the right direction. “I like the program a lot,” he said. “I think they’ll be doing well and will be getting better. This is gonna be a big year for them. I know a bunch of guys on the team already and have a lot of friends there.”
Thomas says he doesn’t have a time frame for making a decision. “It could be on signing day, it could be a few days before,” he said. “I’m having fun with it (the recruiting process) and everyone has an equal shot right now.
“It’ll be an overall thing for me,” he said. “It’ll be how comfortable I feel both on and off the field and I want to make sure that my family is comfortable with my decision too.”
Thomas finished his senior season with 100 tackles, one fumble caused and one interception. He also rushed the ball for around 500 yards and 15 touchdowns.
‘I can come down on the run,” he said. “I’m a force on the field and have a knack for the ball. I read plays fast and can react. I have good instincts and an very versatile.”
He says he can bench 300-pounds and claims a 30-inch vertical jump.
“I want to improve on my pass coverage and my back peddle,” he said. “I need to work on keeping my hips loose.”
Thomas reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 20 ACT.
http://recruiting.scout.com/2/941082.html
Go Gophers!!
Earnest Thomas took his first official visit to Minnesota on Jan. 22. “It went great,” Thomas said. “I had a fun time. I really like the players and the coaches and the facilities were amazing. The new stadium is incredible and I love the facilities.” The Gophers visit was a family affair for Thomas as he took the visit with his mother, grandmother and aunt. “I’ve got a great relationship..."
Earnest Thomas, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound, three-star safety from St. Mary Prep in Orchard Lake, Mi., took an official visit to Minnesota on Jan. 22 and the Gophers are one of his finalists.
Thomas, ranked as the No. 54 safety in the country by Scout.com, still denies a leader but now favors Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and says that all have offered him. Absent from his final five is UCLA, where Thomas had been previously committed.
“Things changed on my end and that’s how things go sometimes,” Thomas said about why he decommitted from the Bruins. “I feel better about my opportunities at these five than at UCLA, plus I didn’t really see everything when I committed. I feel like decommitting was really the right move and I’m happy I did it.”
But are the Bruins still trying to lure Thomas back? “They were for about a week after I did it,” he said. “But I talked to them and explained how I felt and that I wasn’t going to be going there. I told them I had to move on and they were cool about it.”
So instead, Thomas took his first official visit to Minnesota on Jan. 22. “It went great,” he said. “I had a fun time. I really like the players and the coaches and the facilities were amazing. The new stadium is incredible and I love the facilities.”
The Gophers visit was a family affair for Thomas as he took the visit with his mother, grandmother and aunt. “I’ve got a great relationship with all the coaches (at Minnesota) already,” he said. “I really wanted them to get to know them more and talk with them and spend some time with them. It’s important for me that my family is comfortable with where I go.”
Thomas’ player host at Minnesota was freshman defensive back Kenny Watkins. “He played for Brother Rice (in Detroit) and that’s one of our main rivals,” he said. “I’ve known him for a while. We’re rivals on the field, but friends off the field.”
He admits he was very impressed with the Gophers sense of camaraderie. “I love how the players all hang out together,” he said. “They say they are a band of brothers and it’s true. That really stands out.”
Thomas was late to start taking his official visits and will take his next one on Thursday, Jan. 28 to Illinois and then will go immediately to Wisconsin on Saturday, Jan. 30.
He’ll also be hosting Illinois coach Ron Zook on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Also coming by on Tuesday will be Gophers head coach Tim Brewster. He says he’s already had in-home visits from Michigan and Michigan State last week.
“I’ve been to Michigan and Michigan State a bunch of times already,” he said. “I don’t need to take an official there.”
He says the Wolverines are about one hour from his house, while the Spartans are just a bit farther at one and half hours.
“When I told them I was back on the market, they both jumped right back in,” he said. “That felt good to know that they really want me.”
Despite the Wolverines on-field struggles in ‘09, Thomas thinks the program is moving in the right direction. “I like the program a lot,” he said. “I think they’ll be doing well and will be getting better. This is gonna be a big year for them. I know a bunch of guys on the team already and have a lot of friends there.”
Thomas says he doesn’t have a time frame for making a decision. “It could be on signing day, it could be a few days before,” he said. “I’m having fun with it (the recruiting process) and everyone has an equal shot right now.
“It’ll be an overall thing for me,” he said. “It’ll be how comfortable I feel both on and off the field and I want to make sure that my family is comfortable with my decision too.”
Thomas finished his senior season with 100 tackles, one fumble caused and one interception. He also rushed the ball for around 500 yards and 15 touchdowns.
‘I can come down on the run,” he said. “I’m a force on the field and have a knack for the ball. I read plays fast and can react. I have good instincts and an very versatile.”
He says he can bench 300-pounds and claims a 30-inch vertical jump.
“I want to improve on my pass coverage and my back peddle,” he said. “I need to work on keeping my hips loose.”
Thomas reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 20 ACT.
http://recruiting.scout.com/2/941082.html
Go Gophers!!
