8/28/2017 football Edit

Matthew Thomas talks more about Rutgers commitment

Bobby Deren • TheKnightReport

Editor

Rutgers commit Matthew Thomas of Midwood High (Brooklyn) put his recruitment behind him on Friday when he announced that he would join the Scarlet Knights. The RU coaching staff has made Thomas a priority for quite some time and that paid off in yet another commitment in the 2018 class, which is rapidly nearing its capacity.

“I have been talking to Coach Ash and Coach [Bill] Busch a lot,” Thomas said. “They definitely made me feel like Rutgers is the place for me. I just felt like I was at home when I took my visit.”

Thomas will bring a lot of athleticism to Rutgers and although he held a handful of FBS offers, he may have been overlooked in the recruiting process.

“I was definitely under-recruited,” Thomas said. “But I will make up for it this year and show teams what they really missed out on.”

Thomas has a lot of upside as an athlete and that could translate to playing on either side of the football.

“They said I have the flexibility to play wherever. I play both offense and defense now,” Thomas said. “But the main thing right now is defense. They want me to play defensive end. They really explained the position to me at Rutgers. They really talked to me about what I would be doing and made me know what I was getting myself into 100 percent.”

Thomas has really not even begun to scratch the surface of his potential as he was primarily a basketball player in his past.

“Basketball really helped me become more of an athlete and it really helped me change my game,” Thomas said. “It really took my game to another level.”

Thomas becomes one of six verbal commits from the state of New York in Rutgers’ 2018 class.

“I talk to some of those guys,” Thomas said. “I talk to Amad Anderson and Kessawn [Abraham] from Erasmus Hall."

And what is it like now that he is Rutgers commit?

“It took a lot of pressure off. Now, I can just focus on my season and what I need to do to bring my team to a city championship. College football is also really important to me, but my main thing is getting my education.”