Mike Thomas, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound three-star cornerback/wide receiver from Nimitz High School in Houston, Texas, has helped lead his team to a 2-0 start while playing several positions on offense. Thomas has 10 rushes for 136 yards and one touchdown. He has also caught one ball for 11 yards and has completed 7 out of 13 passes for 70 yards. Thomas also helped convert three two-point conversions.
Although Thomas says he's still pretty open, he continues to talk up Stanford and Northwestern. "My top five is not set in stone yet," Thomas said. "But Stanford is number one and Northwestern is two. Those two are close."
Following the Cardinal and the Wildcats are Iowa State, Nebraska and Missouri. All of his favorites have offered and he says he has over 20 total scholarships. "There's no clear cut favorite though," he said. "These five still change and I still like Penn State and Boise State too. I'm not 100 percent sure which other schools I'll be visiting besides Stanford and Northwestern."
In fact, Thomas will be taking his first official visit this weekend (Sept. 15) to Northwestern for the Duke game. "Northwestern has been recruiting me for a long time and I have a great relationship with coach Pat Fitzgerald. I like his energy and they way they are recruiting me. They just make me feel very comfortable and send me lots of emails and mail almost every day."
But Thomas says that the Cardinal are also recruiting him very hard. "I know that Stanford is still in the rebuilding stage, but the offense has definitely improved," he said. "I'm just looking to see how hard the team competes. I know they need some more big players and athletes and I think that I could probably play early there."
While Stanford and Northwestern are his top two, Thomas says the team that has impressed him the most so far this season is Nebraska. "They are 2-0 right now and looking really sharp," he said. "They showed they compete hard and know how to win even when things aren't going well. I think they've got a good shot against USC.
"Nebraska is a big-time program and is very prestigious," Thomas said. "Getting an offer from them is really good and they told me that I'd have a chance to compete for a job at wide receiver early."
Thomas says he doesn't plan to make an early decision and will most likely wait until Signing Day. "I just have to pray about things and talk to my coaches," he said. "I want the best fit for me and need to make sure that these schools and coaches want me and that I'll be able to play."
He reports a 3.4 core GPA and a 950 SAT, which he is retaking in October. "Stanford told me they'd like me to get at least a 1200 on the SAT."