DB Azareyeh Thomas Recaps FNL With Gators, Talks Decision Timeline
On Friday, the Florida Gators drew crowds for its annual Friday Night Lights event, giving recruits from a variety of classes an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of family, friends, coaches and media alike.
Several players stood out during the event, and AllGators took a look at some of the standouts. While he didn't make the top-performers list, 2022 defensive back Azareyeh Thomas did showcase plenty of talent, making plays against some of the top receivers at the event.
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Following the event, we spoke with Thomas about his performance at the event, his thoughts on visiting Florida again with his fellow recruits and the timeline for his potential commitment date.
Working with cornerbacks coach Jules Montinar at the event, Thomas would be able to demonstrate several of the attributes that he can bring to the table for the class of 2022. Thomas gave some insight as to what Florida coaches were looking for out of him, and what stood out for them during the event.
"Just my length, really just use my length and the quickness I have," Thomas said. "Hips, just working on hips and just touching up on a couple of things, even press technique, off-man techniques, stuff like that."
Thomas, listed at 6-foot-1, 177 pounds, possesses plenty of length to play man coverage on the back end of a defense. While he played cornerback during the event, Thomas has the skill set to play safety or perhaps even receiver at the next level.
Part of the process that recruits go through during events such as these is meeting up with fellow classmates, bonding on the trip and the journey that all of them must go through in order to make it to the next level.
Thomas has visited the Florida campus a couple of times prior, and the relationships he's built with some players, committed to the university and not, have been fruitful.
"Guys like Julian Humphrey, Evan Stewart and Nicco [Nick] Evers and stuff like that, because I've actually been up here with them before and stuff like that," said Thomas. "So just coming back vibing and laughing with them, just having a great time and competing at the end of the day."
Humphrey and Evers are currently committed to the university and are two of the top players that showcased their talents at the event on Friday night.
Moving forward, Thomas has yet to set a commitment date but did say following the dead period, sometime in August, he will be making a decision.
Currently, Thomas has listed Florida, Georgia Tech and LSU as his top three programs to choose from. While all benefit him in some ways, he did make sure to point out the importance of education, something Florida certainly brings to the table.
Time will tell where Thomas will ultimately decide to go, but a good showing at the FNL event, along with a couple more visits will go a long way in determining just that.