Notre Dame Has Prioritized Arizona Cornerback Cree Thomas
For the second time in three years, Notre Dame is pushing hard for a Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy College Prep cornerback. The first was Benjamin Morrison in the 2022 recruiting class. Now the staff is pushing for standout Cree Thomas in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
With the dead period fully behind us, players like Thomas are left to manage the recruiting chaos. For the Arizona native, it isn’t chaotic at all. It’s merely an incredible opportunity.
"I wouldn’t really call it chaos,” Thomas told Irish Breakdown. "It’s really a blessing. I know that it’s a great problem to have so I’m thankful for all the coaches that reach out. I’m really enjoying it so far, enjoying my recruiting process so far. I’m so happy that I have all these opportunities to play college football somewhere.
"This has been a thing I dreamed about ever since I was five years old,” he continued. "I always knew that playing college football would be something I wanted to do, and having the opportunity to maybe play in the NFL. I just thank God so much that my dreams are coming true. With continued hard work, they’ll pay off.”
Since Notre Dame offered Thomas back in March, they have quickly become a big player for him. That offer was met with extreme excitement, and understanding of how special the Irish program is.
"I was super excited,” said Thomas. "It’s Notre Dame. It’s one of the most storied college football programs in all of college football. Seeing Ben commit there, my freshman year and his senior year, it was just really cool because Ben Morrison is a role model for me.”
The Irish staff has continuously made Thomas feel like a priority. That, combined with relationships, has really made Notre Dame standout.
“Building the relationship has been super good,” he explained. “I’m really feeling like I’m making some strong connections with all of the coaches. I’m in constant contact with them.
"I love Coach (Mike) Mickens, Coach (Marcus) Freeman, Coach Dre Brown, Coach (Chad) Bowden,” Thomas added. “Coach Bowden brings so much energy every phone call and I love it. There’s all super cool and they make it known that I’m a priority for them. That’s something that I’m really thankful for because that’s going to be something that really matters to me.”
Back in April, Thomas made his first trip to South Bend. Coming into that visit, Notre Dame was already in a strong position with the Arizona native. That momentum just continued on that trip.
“I loved (the visit),” Thomas stated. “It was definitely different from anything I had seen before. I’ve never seen a school built like that, how they run things. It was just amazing to me.
“The family aspect with the players and coaches, I feel like everyone loves each other,” Thomas continued. “Everyone is really close, in the weight room, on the field, everyone is really close. They are really good friends. Relationships are everything in football.”
Of course, Notre Dame is not the only major program who is high on Thomas so far. The Arizona native has quickly attracted the attention of several prominent PAC 12 schools, including holding offers from Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona and Cal. Thomas also holds offers from the Fighting Irish, Wisconsin, Boston College and Purdue among others.
Needless to say, there are going to be several suitors for the 6-1, 170-pound cover man.
“I really like Oregon and Wisconsin right now,” said Thomas. “Cal Berkeley is another one. All the schools who are recruiting me are doing a pretty good job right now. I’m really thankful to everyone who is reaching out right now.”
Whether it ends up being Notre Dame or not, Thomas has a thorough check list for what he’s looking for in a school. The Irish program does absolutely seem to fit the criteria.
“The place I want to be at, I want it to feel super connected and for everyone to have a strong bond, really a family feel,” explained Thomas. “My high school team feels like a family. We get up at 5 AM and we practice every morning. That’s really important to me. I want that same thing in college. I want to love the people next to me, the players and coaches, and I want them to love me back. Not just as a football player but as a person.”
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