One of the biggest needs in the Florida Gators program is offensive linemen and on Saturday one of the best in the country for the 2025 class was on campus.
2025 Florida State offensive line commit Solomon Thomas (6-4, 315, Jacksonville, FL. Raines) was on campus and walked away with a new perspective of the Gators after being on campus for three days.
“It was great,” Thomas said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “I do have a better perspective on the University of Florida. I really didn’t like it at first, not for any specific reason but I didn’t like it because it was so close to home. As a kid you know you want that independence, and you don’t want to be too close to home but that was really the only thing that was driving me away from Gainesville. You come to realize that a lot of Jacksonville guys, like Pup [Grayson Howard], Roderick [Kearney], the running back, all of those are Florida guys that I’ve played with. It’s kind of like a home feel now.”
After the visit, Thomas says several things stick out to him about the Gators including how they can help their players off the field.
“Development, it’s one stop shop when it comes to being more than just an athlete,” he said on what he likes about Florida now. “Academics with the Hawkins Center that was great, it was a great experience full circle. I didn’t expect this much to come out of the visit. It was a great visit.”
Thomas says now that he has seen things at Florida from a different perspective that the Gators have helped their chances with the lineman.
“A good chance, I’m still committed to Florida State though,” Thomas said on Florida’s chances to flip him. “That hasn’t changed at all, I’m not going to burn any bridges.”
The Jacksonville native is in no rush to make a final decision as he’s going to continue to pray and think things over.
“I’m going to take my time, there’s a lot of praying you have to do with sort of stuff,” he said. “You don’t never want to make the wrong decision; people really don’t understand how taxing this recruiting stuff can be. Just weighing my options.”
Several of the Jacksonville guys are working to get Thomas back on campus again and he says he hopes to do that soon.
“I’m going to try to come back up because it’s so close,” Thomas said of visiting Florida again this spring. “It’s short and a fun trip. I’m building relationships with not only the coaches but the players and the people. I’ve been here since Thursday.”
The highlight of the trip wasn’t a message from the coaches but rather his time around the team outside of football.
“The best part of the visit was just hanging out with the offensive line,” he said on what stood out to him.. “I couldn’t hang out with Coach Sale which was fine, but his job is to coach me. I’m really just trying to get to know the people and not to be too devoted on a coach.”
Next up for Thomas will be a trip to the school he’s committed to and then possibly another SEC school.
“Next week, I’ll be going to Florida State,” Thomas said on what’s next for him. “I just talked to Georgia earlier this week and we might try and make something happen there.”