A few months later, it sure seems like that ear to ear smile has faded for Matthew Thomas. The five-star Booker T. Washington linebacker is looking like another Signing Day casualty, having played the recruiting game, feeling he made the wrong decision and now wanting another chance to get it right.
Thomas, hat crooked to the side, smirk on his face and arm chopping away on that first Wednesday in February, chose to take his talents to Tallahassee.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound outside linebacker had offers from all the big boys and was considered the second-best at his position nationwide. The hometown Hurricanes were thought to have a leg up for a while, but down the stretch it looked like a two-horse race with UM and FSU, though Georgia and Alabama weren’t too far behind.
Now three months later, without yet enrolling at Florida State, Thomas wants out, stating that he wasn’t “fully committed” to signing with the Seminoles when announcing his decision.
“I’ve told them [FSU] it’s nothing personal. I just didn’t make the decision I really wanted to on Signing Day,” said Thomas.
“What happened was on Signing Day I wasn’t sure who I wanted to sign with. I had issues with different schools. But when I told my mom I didn’t want to sign with anybody and wait and give it a few days she said I couldn’t do that. She said, ‘FSU is a good school –- pick them. It’s close to home.’ I wasn’t agreeing with it. But I felt like I was being disrespectful to her if I didn’t sign. So I made her happy.”
Furthermore, Miami is no longer in the picture as Thomas supposedly has his eyes set on the University of Georgia, where five-star running back and former UM commit Sony Michel recently committed as part of the 2014 class.
Yet leading up to Signing Day, Thomas was actually leaning towards Southern Cal, but was steered towards Florida State, so he could remain closer to family. Other reports have the Trojans still in the mix.
“I’ve been in Miami all my life,” Thomas said. “Georgia needs linebackers. It’s a big program. I have family in Georgia. USC, growing up I never thought I would have an opportunity that big. I just want to go have fun and play football.”
Whatever the case, a safe bet that Miami hasn’t had Thomas on its radar in a good while, either, as he proving to be just the type of kid this program is looking to avoid.
On the surface, Thomas is playing the confused card, implying that he signed under duress. A kid wanted to make mom proud, but also supposedly didn’t understand all the facts and was under the impression he had to make a choice that day, or else.
Without knowing all the facts, you hate to point fingers at an eighteen-year old kid, but are we really to believe that high school coaches, mentors and other parental figures in his life could’ve failed to make this piece of information clear in regards to a kid who seemed to be all over the place in his decision making?
And where was head coach Tim “Ice” Harris in all this? What kind of advice has he been giving his kids? Thomas is now the second of Harris’ players from the 2013 class who has been a bit unorthodox in his process.
Back in January, offensive lineman Denver Kirkland, pictured with Thomas above, had a public battle with the University of Miami when head coach Al Golden rescinded the scholarship offer UM had been holding for the four-star prospect.
Harris immediately took his story to the Miami Herald, while blasting UM via Twitter. He stated that Kirkland was absolutely Coral Gables-bound, but wanted to make his announcement live on Signing Day – which honestly is a crock, as a kid could silently commit to coaches and then play the hat game in front of TV cameras.
Some speculate that Harris, still frustrated that his relationship fizzled with UM having been on staff under Randy Shannon and let go soon after the former coach was fired in late 2010, was pushing Kirkland towards Arkansas, where his former colleague is now employed.
Miami extended the olive branch to Kirkland, had a sit-down and put the offer back on the table, but the lineman still refused to commit, despite the second chance he asked for, and in the end joined Shannon and the Razorbacks.
One erratic high school head coach and now two of his best players making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Something definitely stinks here.
As a supporter of the University of Miami, it’s easy to take this at face value, jumping on this current staff about “letting top local talent get away”. So much chatter about having to “keep these guys home” and them going elsewhere being an indictment on the current staff and their ability to close – instead of what really might be a blessing; this staff’s eye for avoiding headaches.
Look at the current State Of Miami. The kids who have been brought on board, the ones who have gotten away and those who have been asked to leave.
Coaches pulled back from Kirkland for a reason and while Miami-themed recruiting sites continued to dangle the “Thomas to UM” carrot, it appears this staff pulled away from him, as well.
Furthermore, look at some of the recent kids UM parted ways with. Former cornerback Thomas Finnie as well as linebackers Gionni Paul, Eddie Johnson and Gabe Terry.
Three of the four were late-in-the-game signees. Higher-risk guys that coaches signed late when others got away, or simply to fill roster spots on a depleted team. They were given a chance, struck out and were shown the door, as there’s zero tolerance for that type of selfishness or insubordination for a program in rebuild mode.
Finnie was one of the last kids added to Golden’s first class in 2011, a local kids poached from South Carolina’s class as Miami had less than a half dozen verbal commits in December 2010.
New on the job and needing bodies, Golden took a chance on Finnie and hoped for the best. The cornerback wound up in trouble for stealing a laptop, which ended his days at The U.
Paul was a three-star product out of Lakeland who was committed to Arizona State, but also plucked by Golden as he assembled that first class. There was a need for linebackers and with only two months to get it done, Miami had to go after some second- or third-choice type players. Paul and UM parted ways back in January.
Johnson came to Miami from Atlanta and was yet another last-minute guy from that first class. Originally committed to Louisville, Golden pursued Johnson in late January and flipped him in a matter of days. He committed less than week before Signing Day 2011 and was also a part of that first Golden class, but was recently dismissed for never getting his head on straight.
As for Terry, a three-star defensive-end-turned-linebacker from Wellington, Miami knew of his troubled past, accepted that he had been rehabilitated and gave him one shot at living up to his commitment.
Terry was part of Golden’s second class and with a need for defenders, an under-the-radar guy who seemed to have turned it around – coaches hoped this could be that pivotal moment in the young man’s life. When he proved it wasn’t, he was sent packing.
If looking at this current Miami program objectively, it’s obvious to see where things were, what they are and where it will go. Golden inherited a mess; the 35-29 record the previous five seasons, the least of his concerns.
More troubling was the lack of conditioning, the self-entitlement, the depth woes and everything else that helped create that sub-par record.
As this process refines itself, you’re seeing Miami take less chances on the wrong kind of players, while not being afraid to walk away from perceived head cases. Golden also refuses to be handcuffed by the lack of depth that will come from booting kids from thin positions, as witnessed by the removal of three key linebackers in a four-month span.
If you’re stuck with the task of rebuilding, it’s something that has to be done right. Roll up your sleeves, take your time, set the proper foundation and then get busy. If you fast-track it or cut corners, you inevitably will pay down the road.
Ironically, Thomas is finding that out regarding the way he played the recruiting game. He didn’t take his time, weigh things out, seek wise counsel or choose informatively, and he’ll now going to pay a price, however things play out.
Florida State holds Thomas’ fate in their collective hands as it’s up to head coach Jimbo Fisher whether he’ll release the prized recruit. Seminoles coaches were in Miami this week re-selling Thomas on their program, working to convince the eighteen-year old to honor his commitment.
As a coach, you want to see the kid you worked so hard to land staying put and giving you the next three or four years of his life on the field.
Conversely, as a parent you hate to see a youngster paying a price for an in-the-moment decision they now regret, yet in the same breathe realize there is a life lesson to be learned here regarding giving your word, as well as ramifications for those actions.
There’s also the perspective of the kid – and that’s just what Thomas is here, a kid. Should he have to pay a price for misplaying the situation? To this point he gave his word and signed a piece of paper. Is he asking too much for another chance to get it right? We’re talking about where to play college football, not signing up for military service, but then again, he did give his word and that has to be dealt with in some way, or another.
If Thomas really wants out, Fisher and the Seminoles should let him go, but as other programs have done in the past, they reserve the right to take away some options, not allowing him to go to a few certain programs. There simply has to be come caveat or punishment for what Thomas did here, both to teach him a lesson, as well as to send a message to other potential recruits, allowing them to learn from his mistake.
Whatever does happen, very thankful that this soap opera managed to avoid Coral Gables and the ‘full speed ahead’ coaches and players have with fall just around the corner.
Christian Bello has been covering Miami Hurricanes athletics since the mid-1990s. After spending almost a decade as a columnist for CanesTime, he launched allCanesBlog.com. – the official blog for allCanes.com : The #1 Canes Shop Since 1959. Bello has joined up with XOFan.com and will be a guest columnist at CaneInsider.com this fall. Follow him on Twitter @ChristianRBello.
The common thread with some of the ’13 class issues seem to be HS coeach Harris. Is he blasting FSU like he blasted us? Is he saying they lied to Thomas and disrespecting the kid and coach like he did us? I don’t know how this plays out, but he hasn’t enrolled and shuould be let go, maybe say he can’t go anywhere in the ACC. If they really wanted to be unfair and hateful they could ban Georgia and USC as well though I think that would be uncalled for. Coaches sign contracts one week and leave for a better offer then next all of the time and the players are the ones stuck. In this instance, let him go. But this doesn’t bode well for Thomas, already being in headlines for something other than football. I don’t know the kid from Adam, but it seems like some of the players like the drama of playing the recruiting game. I’m not sure how he didn’t know the depth chart, campus and the situation overall when he had plenty of time to decide and was in control either as an individual or as a family. As you said, I’m glad he didn’t come here and pull that – we have enough going on right now with the NCAA and other players.
GREAT ARTICLE, AS USUAL CB! Keep it up San Diego!
…. only trying to make the Oz-Man proud, as always, mi amigo!!!!