More on new Rutgers commit Matthew Thomas

Rutgers started off its Friday with a commitment from Brooklyn defensive end Matthew Thomas of Midwood High School. Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman shared his thoughts on Rutgers’ latest pickup.

“He is a bigger, athletic, guy, a lot more athletic than people realize. He has a basketball background and is coming in as a strongside end who has not really having focused solely on football throughout his high school career,” Friedman said. “There is a lot of potential here. He put his hand on the ground, chases after the ball carrier and gets into the backfield pretty much with ease with pure athleticism at this point.”

Thomas currently checks in at 6-foot-3, 236 pounds, although there is a lot of room to grow at the college level.

“It will be interesting to see how Rutgers is able to develop him,” Friedman said. “They have some really good technical coaches to really show him how to play the position. As far as his overall conditioning, if the strength and conditioning staff develop him, then the sky is the limit. Not focusing on football workouts for the majority of his high school career, I would not be surprised at all if he winds up growing into a defensive tackle because he already has a big frame. I would also not be surprised if he winds up redshirting. It is a very good pickup and a developmental addition.”