More on Isaiah Thomas
Posted on: May 28, 2016
It’s been a while since the state of Oklahoma has produced a tall and long pass rusher like 2017 Tulsa Memorial outside linebacker/defensive end, Isaiah Thomas. Thomas became a hot commodity over the last several months, picking up offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Baylor, Texas A&M and host of other schools from around the country. That, among other things, makes Thomas’ commitment to Oklahoma a very big deal. Thomas is the first commitment for first year defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux and gives him a centerpiece to build on for the class of 2017.
TFB spoke with Thomas a few hours before his announcement on why Thomas selected OU, “The coaches. I have great relationship with the staff at Oklahoma. I also fit their scheme and it just feels like home to me.”
Thomas told TFB that he will be used in a variety of ways. From playing the “Jack” linebacker to lining up with his hand in the ground at 5 or 4i position on the defensive line. Thomas’ size and athletic makes him the versatile player OU wants and for Thomas it’s similar to what his coaches at Memorial ask of him.
The closeness of the 2017 OU class is paying off once again. Thomas commitment adds to the already strong momentum OU has going in recruiting. Thomas spoke on the closeness of the 2017 class saying, “They (other OU commits) didn’t push too hard, but they definitely talked to me about OU a lot. They would always say do what is best for your family, but we want you at OU.” Thomas added, “Those guys and I are tight. I speak with Levi, Tre and Justin a lot.”
A class that is already regarded as one of the best in the country just keeps on getting better.
41 Comments
That is awesome to hear.
Really like the OKLAHOMA kids staying home!
Cannot win the big one without a healthy dose of in-state talent
You look at the award winners in the past at OU. A lot of them were local talent. It’s good to see that potential will be there in the future.
And every national championship team at OU has had more in-state players than out-of-state players!
I think next year is supposed to be a bumper crop of in-state kids. I look forward to that!
Love the tight bond that continues to build /w SoonerSquad17. Cannot say enough about the importance of that bond inside and outside of the locker room.
Exactly! Hard to remember a group this tight DURING recruitment. Team building works in any organization – such an early, strong start bolsters them going forward.
I hope this technique will continue to be utilized with future classes.
Yessir! This class super S P E C I A L !!!!
Recruiting 101, build that wall around your state! Oki state is NO threat to us and will never be. Let this kid gain 15-20lbs of solid muscle working with Schmitty and look out, we’ve got a future first rounder on our hands folks.
Graduation ceremony was for an all boys catholic school, I’ll let y’all imagine how fun that was ?. Anyways, I’m glad we got a Boom, now time for Boom from that DT position. Have a good day fellow brainiacs ?
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the pokes are no threat to us but whatever recruiting momentum they got from their lone Big XII Title of a few years ago and their facilities upgrade has certainly tapered off as of late.
Seems like a level headed kid. Glad he’s going to be a good guy.
Been out of the loop all day; glad to see this commitment. Needs some development but hopefully Thibs can get it done. Glad to have Isaiah on board. Boomer!
Is it just me or does that famous Muslim celeb look a bit shady?
Thanks Brandon, good stuff as always. You guys are doing a great job helping out the OK guys. Thrilled with this commit, always good to get guys with awesome offer sheets.
Amen.
Truly will be an Okie team.
BOOM!! I can’t wait to see a 6’5″ pass rusher tear it up! I’m glad Isaiah made the right choice.
Patrick Hudson, bring KD with you on to Norman!
http://collegespun.com/big-12/baylor-big-12/report-4-star-baylor-signee-patrick-hudson-will-not-enroll-on-monday
Cannon stated in a tweet. he was staying at Baylor.
Congratulations guys! He seems very underrated. I think with the right coaching he can be a star in this conference. Do y’all see him as a redshirt?
Redshirt for sure, he needs to add some good pounds but the kid should be a baller.
Looks like a top athlete and getting offers from a lot of big programs. So that makes it hard to understand why rivals only has him listed as a 3 star recruit.
It’s Rivals. They know squat.
He doesn’t have a lot of offers and most of the ones he has are in the last couple of months. They may not have gotten around to reevaluating him based on the offers.
Almost 20 offers ain’t a lot? Hmm. ?
First, where I come from, 14 is not almost 20. Second for a 4* LB, no 14 is not a lot.
You must be from Mathachusetts.
Actually, I have a math degree from OU.
Caleb Kelly had 25 offers when he signed with OU. Nearly doubles the 14 Thomas has. He might get up to 20 offers, and probably get his 4th * like Bob said, but 14 offers usually gets you a 3*, which is a very good HS player, that may develop into a good college player.
Per Scout, Thomas has 17 offers… Bama, Arizona, Baylor, Tennessee, Mizzou, Texas a&m, S Carolina, Nebraska, Colorado, Houston, pokie state, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Arkansas St. With Bama and 5 other SEC schools offering him, I’m a little surprised he’s not rated at 4*. Perhaps with Kansas, ISU, AR St among his offers, that counts against him? Lol
Of course, I think recruiting rankings are mostly a big joke and as reliable as throwing darts at a dart board to come up with a ranking. I pay more attention to who is recruiting a player and if Alabama wants him, he’s probably pretty darn good.
It’s all relative to the service you read, and they are all usually lazy. Pay me for my service while I see how many and who offers, that way I don’t have to do an honest eval. They let the coaches do the evals, make their offers and the services sell subscribtions. Thomas will inevitably get his 4* rating. He’s a little raw in technique, but amazing potential. A year with the coaches will have him tearing it up. I would expect after another 3-6 offers and he will move up in the ratings.
Are all 17 offers COMMITABLE offers ? perhaps that’s a factor in his rating ?
Kelly signed in February of this year., Isaiah has eight months to make up ground on him.
Rivals will have him as a 4 star the next go around.
This monster continues to grow! Great job Coach T! Under 100 days till the Chase for 8 behind!
Also, Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to any of you that served our great country and may God bless all those brave men and women that paid the ultimate sacrifice. God bless all of you and God bless America!
http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/112725/pros-and-cons-of-oklahoma-and-texas-in-different-divisions