Originally listed as one of my five cornerbacks to watch ahead of the East-West Shrine Bowl, UAB’s Starling Thomas V was far and away the best defensive back on the West roster, playing with a technical consistency that is refreshing to watch. Thomas V measured in at 5’9” at weigh-ins, to which he joked with me and Josh Carney that “I’m not that short, I play in shoes.”
Particularly in the absence of Tre’vius Hodges-Tomlinson, who chose to attend the Shrine Bowl for measurements and interviews but will not participate in practices or the games, Starling Thomas V, stole the show at the defensive back position.