Gamecocks add EDGE pledge
Winter Garden (Fla.) Foundation three-star EDGE Bryan Thomas Jr. said following his official visit over the weekend that he found everything he needed at South Carolina.
After a couple of days of thinking it over, the talented class of 2022 prospect committed to the Gamecocks on Thursday afternoon, he told Gamecock Central.
The NFL legacy was recruited to South Carolina by his future position coach Mike Peterson and area recruiter Torrian Gray, and the staff seemed to play a big role in the choice.
"When I first got recruited by South Carolina, I did some research and saw that Coach Peterson was an NFL veteran," the prospect said. "Who wouldn't want to learn from somebody that made it to the highest prestige of football? Not only that, but my parents can be close by, so if I ever need anything they can be right there for me. They can come to all my games. Shane Beamer, he's one of the best coaches out there. They have a top 5 coaching staff."
The 6-foot-1, 222-pounder had cut his list down to the Gamecocks and West Virginia, ultimately choosing South Carolina. Thomas also had offers from Maryland, Minnesota, N.C. State, Pitt and Virginia Tech.
He saw plenty during his official visit to Columbia last weekend and went into more detail following his pledge on what put things over the top.
Said Thomas Jr.: "The nutrition plan and the treatment area, all that is good. The staff is top notch, they have NFL experience. One of the strength and conditioning coaches was the strength coach for the Cincinnati Bengals."
What type of player and person can South Carolina fans expect when Thomas Jr. hits the field?
"They can expect a fast, hardworking young man who's going to grow each year and get better every year, who's going to work for his spot," he said. "I'm never going to digress, always progress."
Thomas Jr.'s father, Bryan Thomas, went through the college recruiting process and spent years playing in the NFL for the New York Jets. That was a quality resource for the younger Thomas.
"I learned a lot from him over the years," he said. "Once again, he's a person that has a lot of experience so I'm going to look for advice from him. He told me it was my decision, but as a family we all sat down and talked about it and this is what it came out to be."
Once Beamer and his assistants heard the news, they were all thrilled to hear of the newest 2022 class commitment.
"He was excited," Thomas Jr. laughed. "He told me 'Welcome to the family.' I told my position coach the same thing, he was excited. Everybody was happy and said let's get ready to work."
Thomas Jr. is the 17th commitment in the Gamecocks' 2022 class.
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