Thomas Jr., whose father played at UAB and spent 11 seasons in the NFL, picked the Gamecocks over his other finalist West Virginia. He had 15 other Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offers.
His former Foundation Academy head coach Brad Lord said Thomas Jr., “loves” the energy of new South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer.
Thomas, who began playing varsity at Foundation during his eighth-grade season, has played a huge role in the program’s advancement. Foundation fell one game shy of playing for the Class 2A state championship last year.
As a junior, Thomas averaged nine tackles per game and had 28 tackles for loss.