Gators Make Final Push to Flip 5-star FSU Commit

As five-star offensive lineman and FSU commit Solomon Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.) begins the final turn of his recruitment, he’ll have some mulling over to do with two SEC programs pushing to flip his commitment.

After an official visit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana last weekend and another in Gainesville this past weekend, the Florida Gators are neck-and-neck with LSU behind Florida State for the services of the nation’s top-ranked offensive line recruit.

Culture, proximity, academics and relationships are the main reasons why Florida is still in contention, he told Gators Illustrated following his official visit.

“Just seeing life after football. The plan. The expectation. The people. I feel like there’s nothing like it, playing with people that you’ve known for a great amount of time,” Thomas said of this weekend’s highlight. “The culture here is ‘Us.’ So, I can go anywhere and say this culture’s great. I’ve kind of come to realize that the culture is something that I’ve always known, something that I’ve always believed in. Everything’s good in Gainesville, for sure.”

However, if Florida is to complete the flip, they don’t appear to have much more time. Thomas said he would like to shut down his recruitment by the end of summer.

“It’s a headache. I hate this, to be real. I loved it when I was younger, but now it’s like, I’m tired. I’m ready to get down to business,” he said.

With that and another FSU visit on tap next weekend, the Gators went all-out during this weekend’s OV. Thomas explained Florida pressed hard because he plans on being an early-enrollee. The Gators had most of the Jacksonville-based players currently on the roster spend time with him this weekend.

“It was more of a press to get me on board. After the summer, you want to know who you got coming in, especially with me as an early enrollee. I’ll be enrolling into a school in about six months. So, just getting a game plan,” said Thomas.

He mentioned Florida’s business-like approach with head coach Billy Napier as a standout characteristic for the Gators. He also noticed the NFL experience of the program’s two offensive line coaches, Rob Sale and Jonathan DeCoster.

Thomas tries to keep that same business-like approach in his own recruitment. As the nation’s No. 1 offensive line recruit, he has been given the red-carpet treatment during visits, but he explained that he tries to look deeper into schools rather than what he’s shown.

“I pretty much knew what it was coming in before the OVs. That’s why I try to do a lot of shadow days, to see what it is for real. Without the red carpet stuff. When the red carpets come, it’s cool, but I know what it is when you sign that paper. You might not even get a ‘Hello’ out of some people. I know what’s real and what’s fake,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s making it hard, but it’s definitely an experience that no one can ever tell you how you’re supposed to feel. At the end of the day, it comes down to a gut feeling, and if you’re not waking up excited to go and bust your ass with your brothers, there’s nothing like that.”