On Thomas

Peter Ariz

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This post has nothing to do with his recruitment, but more on him as a player.

We have discussed at length the type of talent he is, but I want to address something else. I was talking to somebody today who told me that certain "experts" out there who saw him at practice said that he is too small to be able to play right away. While he needs to and will add weight for college, that statement is so far from true. People who are making these assumptions based on seeing them in one practice are ridiculous. If they are saying that, then I can almost guarantee they've never watched him in a game.

I've had the chance to see Thomas play live against top Dade County competition 5-6 times over the past 2 years and to say he can't contribute early is ludicrous. He was the best player on the field every time I saw him and it wasn't even close. While he might be lacking a little something strength-wise right now, that's not what makes him the special player he is. He will never be a 250-lb linebacker because that's just not his game, but people need to realize that he's just a different breed. His explosiveness and wiry strength along with his ability to drop into coverage and also read-and-react is so advanced for somebody at the high school level, that he will be able to translate a lot of that to the next level right away no matter how much he weighs.

I see him playing next season at about 220 and that will be enough to make a big impact. I keep harping on this, but his versatility is flat out scary. I remember people saying Duke was not ready physically and he was too small, but legitimately special players make up for a lack of whatever they're missing and they make plays. Thomas is on that Duke-level of special.

Before these people make assessments based off of one practice, they might want to head to Traz Powell on a Friday night to see players in an actual game.
 
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These are the same people who doubted Sean Spence.
 
Was just having this convo with some over on CS. They are convinced he is too small and that he should RS. Sounds great when you have an elite defense returning but we had the worse D in school history and people are talking about RS a kid who hasn't even graduated HS LOL We should be begging eery elite kid to come in here and give us anything. But I guess that's what I get for going over there to discuss anything. Same group said no way Duke does anything as a freshman at his size. They also wanted to shirt Bush this time last year.
 
Pete, I'm sure those same "experts" would tell us all that Duke Johnson is a scat back and most effective in space and too small to get tough yards.

Dude dominates the best competition in the country.

Drop mic.
 
To be transparent, they are doing evaluations on a larger scale and are much more likely to succumb to snap judgments.

That's the reason why there's a special place for people like Tito, Cam, and yourself Pete. You can provide the in-depth evaluations that the National guys can't come close to. You have seen these guys up close and personal for most of their careers.
 
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To be transparent, they are doing evaluations on a larger scale and are much more likely to succumb to snap judgments.

That's the reason why there's a special place for people like Tito, Cam, and yourself Pete. You can provide the in-depth evaluations that the National guys can't come close to. You have seen these guys up close and personal for most of their careers.

this wasn't a national guy
 
These are the same people who doubted Sean Spence.


Stop this. Nobody doubted Spence. He had huge expectations coming in here and he lived up to all of them.

All people were saying was that if he had more prototypical size he'd be the #1 LB in HS coming out.
 
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To be transparent, they are doing evaluations on a larger scale and are much more likely to succumb to snap judgments.

That's the reason why there's a special place for people like Tito, Cam, and yourself Pete. You can provide the in-depth evaluations that the National guys can't come close to. You have seen these guys up close and personal for most of their careers.

this wasn't a national guy

It was Ferman the idiot wasn't it?

If it was, don't give credence to morons by paying em the attention they seek lol
 
To be transparent, they are doing evaluations on a larger scale and are much more likely to succumb to snap judgments.

That's the reason why there's a special place for people like Tito, Cam, and yourself Pete. You can provide the in-depth evaluations that the National guys can't come close to. You have seen these guys up close and personal for most of their careers.

this wasn't a national guy

It was Ferman the idiot wasn't it?

If it was, don't give credence to morons by paying em the attention they seek lol

Lol at the thought of Ferman actually going to a single HS game this year....that's what's going to set you apart Pete. That, and integrity.
 
To be transparent, they are doing evaluations on a larger scale and are much more likely to succumb to snap judgments.

That's the reason why there's a special place for people like Tito, Cam, and yourself Pete. You can provide the in-depth evaluations that the National guys can't come close to. You have seen these guys up close and personal for most of their careers.

this wasn't a national guy

It was Ferman the idiot wasn't it?

If it was, don't give credence to morons by paying em the attention they seek lol

Dude is already saying if O'Brien gets an NFL job watch PSU go after Golden LOL Guy is ridiculous.
 
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I agree Pete

I haven't gotten to see Thomas live, but just from his clips you can tell that he plays even bigger than he is (and the only point I disagree with you on is that I believe he has the frame to eventually be a 250 pound LB). Even though he is probably a little small for a DE, he has the pop and natural strength/leverage that he regularly takes on big OL and never gets pushed around. On top of all the other things he does well, he bangs in the trenches with the best of them
 
These are the same people who doubted Sean Spence.


Stop this. Nobody doubted Spence. He had huge expectations coming in here and he lived up to all of them.

All people were saying was that if he had more prototypical size he'd be the #1 LB in HS coming out.
Um, that's kind of my point, and I was talking about the national guys when he was being recruited. Not sure how that is different from national guys now doubting thomas due to how they see his size at these practices vs what he did this season on the field.
 
These are the same people who doubted Sean Spence.


Stop this. Nobody doubted Spence. He had huge expectations coming in here and he lived up to all of them.

All people were saying was that if he had more prototypical size he'd be the #1 LB in HS coming out.
Um, that's kind of my point, and I was talking about the national guys when he was being recruited. Not sure how that is different from national guys now doubting thomas due to how they see his size at these practices vs what he did this season on the field.
Don't mean this as disrespect but no national guys are doubting 6 as a recruit he is and will be a 5 stat recruit across the board. Also spence went from a 3 star guy to a borderline top 100 guy, hardly undervalued or rated as a prospect. It was just an observation, nothing more nothing less.
 
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These are the same people who doubted Sean Spence.


Stop this. Nobody doubted Spence. He had huge expectations coming in here and he lived up to all of them.

All people were saying was that if he had more prototypical size he'd be the #1 LB in HS coming out.
Um, that's kind of my point, and I was talking about the national guys when he was being recruited. Not sure how that is different from national guys now doubting thomas due to how they see his size at these practices vs what he did this season on the field.
Don't mean this as disrespect but no national guys are doubting 6 as a recruit he is and will be a 5 stat recruit across the board. Also spence went from a 3 star guy to a borderline top 100 guy, hardly undervalued or rated as a prospect. It was just an observation, nothing more nothing less.

I'm pretty sure he is specifically referring to the part about playing early. Many many people said Spence would have trouble seeing the field right away (I remember at least 1 or 2 idiots even say he would be a safety), and now people are saying the same about 6. What he is saying is 100% correct...Spence had his doubters about playing from day 1 b/c of his size.
 
These are the same people who doubted Sean Spence.


Stop this. Nobody doubted Spence. He had huge expectations coming in here and he lived up to all of them.

All people were saying was that if he had more prototypical size he'd be the #1 LB in HS coming out.
Um, that's kind of my point, and I was talking about the national guys when he was being recruited. Not sure how that is different from national guys now doubting thomas due to how they see his size at these practices vs what he did this season on the field.
Don't mean this as disrespect but no national guys are doubting 6 as a recruit he is and will be a 5 stat recruit across the board. Also spence went from a 3 star guy to a borderline top 100 guy, hardly undervalued or rated as a prospect. It was just an observation, nothing more nothing less.

Not saying they are per se, but all the reports today were neg on him due to size.
 
He does need to gain weight and if we were in a run dominated conference or era of football I may agree... Once bigger, older and stronger guys put their hands on him it'll slow him down a lot but thats not today's football... the kid can play right away with all the spread and spread option offenses... He's talented but he hasn't faced college olinemen yet... But like I said, we're not facing teams like that... I think he'll be alright...
 
Ispyin, the reports were not all negative in fact I saw two negatives, one being the size comment that included 6 being driven into the ground and another being the c long comment where he said 6 didn't move to his right that well. Other than that everything I have seen has been very positive.
 
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