Lawing offers underrated DE

Florida’s coaching staff has been on the road now for two weeks evaluating prospects and looking for guys that could help the program.

On Thursday, the Gators offered one of the most underrated defensive ends in McCalla (Al.) McAdory defensive end Cory Thomas.

“The defensive line coach (Brad) Lawing offered me on Thursday,” Thomas said. “It’s a big offer and it means a lot coming from a system like Florida. I really like the defense at Florida and the background that coach Lawing has and coach (Will) Muschamp has.”

The 6-foot-5, 272-pound Thomas grew up in the heart of SEC country and knows a few things already about Florida.

“I don’t know a whole lot about Florida but I do know a few things,” Thomas said. “I’ve always liked the scheme and system that Florida has in place. I really like how they use their defensive ends in their system. One other thing that I do know about them is that they have a winning program and they win a lot of football games.”

One thing that impressed Thomas from the get go is Brad Lawing and the success he has had in the past at his previous stops.

“I really like coach Lawing’s background,” Thomas said. “He has a lot of experience and he has sent a lot of players to the NFL and helped them become very good players.”

Right now Thomas says that Mississippi State is his leader but that could change as he has visits planned for the summer.

“I know I’m going to get down to Florida to visit them,” Thomas said. “I really couldn’t say how much the Florida offer changes things because I haven’t visited them yet but I’m ready to get down there and meet the coaching staff.”

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.