Florida Gators still recruiting Adonis Thomas

The Florida Gators need linebackers like they need oxygen. With just six linebackers on the roster for next season (if Antonio Morrison returns for his senior season) the Gators are in bad shape for depth at the position.

Adonis Thomas was a onetime Florida commit before he decided to flip his commitment to Alabama. Thomas watched Florida’s season unfold and has made note of the coaching changes.

“It’s not too late because I was set on going to Florida for real.” Thomas said of Florida’s chances with him. “Everyone knew that I was going to Florida for a long bit of time. Coach [Geoff] Collins seems like a good dude. I’ve been talking to him more, see what he has to say, see how he feels about me. I’m going to get down there for an official visit and check things out.”

Florida’s new defensive coordinator was quick to get on the horn with Thomas and let the former commit know that he is still wanted in Gainesville. Thomas was pleased to know that Collins’ defensive philosophy is very similar to the one he committed to when Will Muschamp was at Florida.

“[Collins] is telling me the same thing coach Muschamp was telling me,” said Thomas. “I fit a 3-4, 4-3 scheme for them and that I can come in and play day one if I work to it and do what I need to do.”

The opportunity to play early is intriguing to Thomas but it’s not something he’s going to base his decision off of.

“Every school seems to be a little different basically, talking about how immediately I can come in and play,” he said. “The depth is always good but I want to make sure I’m ready too.”

Florida can offer immediate playing time and Thomas acknowledged that he liked that but he isn’t afraid to work for playing time. Thomas wants to make sure that when he gets on the field he’s ready to be there, that he earned the spot. He doesn’t want to be handed anything.

Collins has told Thomas that he sees him playing all three linebacker positions in his defense and Thomas is expecting to hear more from the coach when Collins and McElwain use their in home visit after the dead period.

Thomas will visit Alabama on January 16 before taking two more official visits to Auburn and Florida. He does not have dates set for those two visits yet.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

2 COMMENTS

  1. In each one of these recruiting articles I think it would be great if you guys could make it a standard to do the following as a little graphic that is inset with the article:

    Adonis Thomas:
    6-4, 219
    Lawrenceville, GA
    4 Star
    63rd overall player nationally

    Would save time for the reader and keep them on your site. Or you could have a link that takes them to a sponsored page that shows all of that information. It would increase your hits.

    • I don’t participate in the 4 star or 5 star thing but I make sure to list height and weights in every story.