Carlos Thomas to GT

I have updated the recruiting board - link here.
Wll, another football commit from another stud wide receiver. Another battle won against UGAg. For the 2nd year in a row, GT gets the top wide receiver prospect in the state of Georgia (College Park). He is also probably the best cornerback prospect in the state also. This kid is currently listed by Rivals as the 8th best wide receiver in the nation, the #4 prospect overall in Georgia, the 75th best overall prospect in the nation. He is a 4-star prospect from insiders.com and they have him listed as the 10th best WR prospect in the nation. He also happens to be the younger brother of current starting GT WR Levon Thomas. So a nice family connection being created here.

His college choices really came down to GT and UGAg, but he also considered Clemson, Florida, LSU as well. Carlos is fast as he runs a legit 4.4-40, has a 32" vertical and is 5'11" 170lb. As a junior in high school he caught 20 passes for 411 yards and 5 TD's. In the Nike camp in ATL he had the 6th fastest 40-time at 4.41,

He also happens to be a standout on the baseball diamond, batting .627 as a sophomore and playing 2nd base / centerfield.

Carlos announced tonight on CSS-TV on SportsNite, co-hosted by Ryan Stewart (GT) and others. Carlos did the old 5 hats on the table and picked one - GT. I tell you, we are winning more of these hat picking deals than ever before. Here are some interesting comments from the interview

- Scott Kennedy, a recruiting analyst from insiders was there to co-interview him. SK said that he had legit top speed, but that he really thought Carlos would be best suited at the corner spot. He said Carlos was the perfect NFL size for a corner but at his size, not many go to the NFL as a WR. Ryan S. said that playing defense was just easier. But Carlos said he was being recruited by GT at the WR position.

- Carlos was recruited by Tommy Robinson, and Carlos said he did make a difference.

- Carlos had told Kennedy months ago that he would NOT go to GT. But in the end, he listened to his family and that had a big impact on his decision. Both his brother Levon and his parents helped influence his decision

- Carlos is good friends with Calvin Johnson. They are from the same hometown and evidently go back somewhat (or he would lead you to believe). It was obvious that he could see himself and Calvin lining up together on Saturdays.

It was obvious that CT was a bit nervous being on TV. It was a big moment and one in the spotlight. We're happy he chose GT and welcome him aboard. He will fit right in and with the graduating guys at WR we will need some young guys to step up.

So, how does this impact our recruiting moving forward? It should mean only good things to come. There are a lot of dominos at play here, one of which is Ramon McElrathbey, who is friends with Thomas. They would like to play at the same school and RM had committed to Clemson but backed off to look at other schools. Looks like GT is the only chance for the two of them to play together. Here's a mention of both guys - link here.

The most intriguing player is Mays quarterback Ramon McElrathbey. The 6-foot, 180-pounder will move from running back to quarterback. McElrathbey is being recruited by several Division I-A schools as a running back and cornerback.

After McElrathbey, Banneker wide receiver-cornerback Carlos Thomas is considered the most athletic of the class.

Here's mention of Thomas, and GT commit Taalib Tucker - link here.

Bottom-line is that this is an excellent pick-up. Gailey is grabbing some real talent at the skill positions. Many are asking - where are the O-lineman? A natural question, but we need to trust the work of the staff. You can build strength and mass. It's hard to build speed and playmaking ability.

No doubt recruiting has picked up substantially and 2004 is no exception.