12/19/2018 football Edit

Letter of intent No. 7: Three-star LB Drake Thomas

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

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Measurables:

• At the Nike Camp in Charlotte measured 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds and was laser-timed at 4.25 seconds in the shuttle (fastest linebacker time was 4.10) … Also had a 29.9-inch vertical leap and 40.0-foot power ball throw, which trailed top linebacker mark of 43.5.

Stats:

• Senior: Posted 123 tackles (52 solo), including three sacks and two safeties, two interceptions (one pick six), three pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in 12 games … Ran 50 times for 280 yards and seven touchdowns and caught five passes for 35 yards and a score.

• Junior: Finished with 112 tackles (51 solo), including a sack, three interceptions (returned for a touchdown), three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 14 games … Had 30 carries for 287 yards and three scores.

• Sophomore: Made 113 tackles (77 solo), including seven for loss and a sack, and three fumble recoveries (returning two for touchdowns) in 14 games … Had 57 carries for 336 yards and a score.

• Freshman: Contributed 45 tackles (23 solo), including one for a loss, in nine games.

Ratings:

• Rivals.com: Three stars, No. 22 inside linebacker in the country and No. 19 player in the state.

• 247Sports: Three stars, No. 27 inside linebacker in the country and No. 30 player in the state.

• ESPN: Three stars, No. 20 inside linebacker in the country and No. 38 player in the state.

• Fayetteville Observer: No. 22 player in the state

Honors/accomplishments:

• Picked to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game where he started and finished with five tackles.

• Named one of the top 10 players in the game by Rivals.com.

• Finalist for WRAL’s HighSchoolOT.com’s regional 2018 Football Defensive Player of the Year.

• Made the Butkus Award watch list for top high school linebacker.

• Older brother Thayer Thomas is a redshirt freshman receiver for NC State, and his father played offensive line at Marshall.

• Also played baseball.

Recruitment:

• Emerged on the national scene of recruiting after his sophomore season.

• Eventually narrowed his choices down to offers from Alabama, Clemson, NC State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

• Chose NC State on June 1 over Clemson and expects to enroll early.

Recruiter of record:

Running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator Des Kitchings

Quotable:

“Thomas is a tackling machine and that should continue at NC State. He plays with his hair on fire, running from sideline-to-sideline and plugging running lanes that open up in front of him. The energy Thomas plays with is very clear to the naked eye and he helps his teammates take their game to the next level. Thomas has become known for his instinctual play.” — Rivals.com analyst Adam Friedman.

Scouting report:

• A physical tackling machine who wins most battles at contact.

• Shows good instincts and runs well downhill.

• Could even be an effective short-yardage running back on offense.

2019 projection:

NC State has some promising young linebackers which could give them the luxury of redshirting Thomas, who probably saw firsthand the benefits of taking a year to develop from his brother. That said, Thomas may be too good to keep off the field, especially on special teams.