The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff have made a concerted effort in the last several years to establish a presence in the football rich state of Florida and their hard work continues to pay off. Tuesday it paid off handsomely in the form of Miami Central three star (per Rivals) safety Ahmad Thomas. Thomas was only offered by the Sooners last week and has yet to visit Oklahoma, but according to an interview ($) Thomas did with Rivals' Chris Nee (who broke the story of the commitment) he just felt he could not wait. Committing to a school sight unseen it's necessarily common, so credit Mike Stoops for selling the talented safety on the Sooners even before he visited campus.
Thomas plays safety for Miami Central, but he's a safety who, at least on the limited film available, generally plays close to the line of scrimmage. What stands out about his game is his ability to come up and deliver a significant blow to the ball carrier. At 6'1" 200 pounds, he definitely is not afraid to throw his body around which you only have to know very little about Mike Stoops to know how much he loves that in the guys in his secondary. Given Thomas' propensity to play close to the line of scrimmage, Stoops could envision him in that Roy-back spot the Sooners frequently employ.
Assuming Stoops' quote following the spring game, about wanting to bring in five defensive backs in this 2013 class, still holds true this would be the Sooners second along with in-state stud Stanvon Taylor.
Thomas held an impressive list of offers from schools like Auburn, Florida State, Illinois, N.C. State, Notre Dame, and West Virginia among others. He was believed to be pretty high on FSU at one point, so again credit goes to Mike Stoops for going into enemy territory and pulling out a very talented player. That said, it will very likely be a battle until February to keep him committed. Not saying that I have any inside information or reason to doubt his commitment, more that the area schools won't let this one get away without a fight.
Welcome to Sooner Nation Ahmad!