'08 FL RB Carlton Thomas (Georgia Verbal)

[GoshenGipper]

Awesome. Who's the source?

I read an article about it a while back, but hadn't hear anything definite yet.

 

[johnnd05]

Cool beans. Now we just gotta BRING it. Everybody rep Rockne for sharing the good news.

 

[GoshenGipper]

I love the kid's highlights, but if I could only have one I think I'd rather take Ryan Williams. He has similar if not better speed than CT and has more of the typical size that is usually needed for a feature back at the next level. Now all that being said I'm not going to be disappointed if ND lands CT.

 

[johnnd05]

I love the kid's highlights, but if I could only have one I think I'd rather take Ryan Williams. He has similar if not better speed than CT and has more of the typical size that is usually needed for a feature back at the next level. Now all that being said I'm not going to be disappointed if ND lands CT.

I hear ya. I also really like the sense I've gotten of RW's attitude. That said, I'll be MASSIVELY happy with either.

 

[johnnd05]

CT's final five: ND, WVU, Iowa, Auburn, UGA. He says he'll be taking official visits to all of them, and ND's will come in TEN DAYS.

 

[rockne19]

he doesn't have usc in there, which i think he has a offer from.

 

[johnnd05]

From Scout's Recruiting Week in Review:

The Notre Dame coaching staff has been actively recruiting the Scout.com four-star and thirteenth ranked running back Carlton Thomas, 5-7, 175, Frostproof High School, Frostproof, FL since March 2007. In fact, they have been overwhelming the dynamic young gamebreaker with a level of attention that has demonstrated to him that he represents one of their top priorities. Thomas recently returned the love when he listed the Irish as one of his co-leaders.

“I just wanted to let them know that they’re still up there,” explained Thomas. “I’m just real happy and appreciative of them looking at me, giving me that exposure and looking at me that highly.”

Thomas said that he stays in regular contact with Bernie Parmalee and periodically receives e-mails from Charlie Weis. The e-mails from Weis mostly remind Thomas how important he is to this Notre Dame recruiting class.

Notre Dame’s success on the recruiting trail has not been lost on Thomas. When recently speaking with him, a national recruiting analyst mentioned that the Irish had the number one recruiting class thus far. Thomas went online and checked it out and found it to be true. According to the young Floridian being part of a top-flight class is “…very important to me.”

Thomas doesn’t spend all of his time waiting for recruiting calls and e-mails. He’s spent the offseason working hard to improve himself, both as a player and a leader. He’s raised his bench press to 330 pounds and his squat to 450 pounds. More importantly, he’s become much more vocal with his teammates.

“I have a lot of experience I can give to my teammates, and I’ve been giving more encouragement,” said Thomas. As hard as he has worked to improve, Thomas will have to compile absolutely stratospheric numbers in order to better last year’s performance. He rushed for a Polk County best 2283 yards with 25 touchdowns.

Thomas hasn’t finalized plans for his official visit to South Bend, though now appears to be leaning towards the opening weekend against Georgia Tech. He still needs to work everything out with his family and his coaches.

In addition to Notre Dame, Thomas is considering West Virginia, Auburn, Clemson and Georgia.

 

[IrishAddiction]

something very interesting to me that he said... i really appreciate them looking at me and giving me exposure.... i hope that isnt all he is happy we are looking at him for. i really hope he is truly considering us, and not just wanting the exposure that comes from a ND offer and recruitment. i am really glad he wants to be in a top ranked class though. just my opinion.

 

[GoshenGipper]

he doesn't have usc in there, which i think he has a offer from.

They (USC) haven't been in the mix for a little while. If I remember right I think I saw CT mention that re really didn't want to go all the way out to the west coast to play, which partially eliminated USC, and Arizona State. I've also heard that USC stopped recruiting him hard as well.

 

[rockne19]

i was hoping we would land 3-4 players from the state of fla. this year! now it looks like thomas is our last hope! sabino(maybe)?

 

[johnnd05]

i was hoping we would land 3-4 players from the state of fla. this year! now it looks like thomas is our last hope! sabino(maybe)?

No chance on Sabino from what I hear. You're right, though - that is a disappointment. That said, it's perhaps more important that we clean up in the Midwest, which we certainly have.

 

[GoshenGipper]

According to CT on his Power Hour interview he said these will be the top facots in his choice of a school.

1. The winning tradition of the school

2. Does he feel comfortable with the team, and does it have a family atmosphere to it.

3. Education

4. BCS/National Championship chances

 

[GoshenGipper]

CT's final five: ND, WVU, Iowa, Auburn, UGA. He says he'll be taking official visits to all of them, and ND's will come in TEN DAYS.

During his interview he also mentioned that he is considering taking visits to Iowa, Clemson, and Georgia but that's it for now.

 

[IrishAddiction]

heard he is visiting campus right now... wonder if there is any chance of him commiting. that would be nice, but i kinda think it is unlikely. it would be awesome if he does though.

 

[johnnd05]

heard he is visiting campus right now... wonder if there is any chance of him commiting. that would be nice, but i kinda think it is unlikely. it would be awesome if he does though.

It's pretty clear that he won't commit this weekend - he says he's going to take all five of his visits first. Let's hope it goes well, though!

 

[The Polish Irishman]

He weighs 175 and can bench 330 in High School...That is a freak of nature

 

[GoshenGipper]

heard he is visiting campus right now... wonder if there is any chance of him commiting. that would be nice, but i kinda think it is unlikely. it would be awesome if he does though.

He won't be in untill Sat ,morning. He still has a game to play this Fri night.

It's pretty clear that he won't commit this weekend - he says he's going to take all five of his visits first. Let's hope it goes well, though!

Yep, dead on there john.

 

[GoshenGipper]

Per ESPN.com

Huge day for RB Carlton Thomas
ESPNU All-American Carlton Thomas rushed for 285 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown scamper, in Frostproof's 14-0 triumph, The Ledger reports. Most of his damage was done in the first half, as cramps kept him sidelined later in the contest.

Let's hope this puts him in a good mood for today's visit.

 

[johnnd05]

Per ESPN.com



Let's hope this puts him in a good mood for today's visit.

Wow, good stuff! I'll make sure that gets in tomorrow's roundup.

If anyone can track down how any of our other major targets (Floyd, Ryan Williams, Kenny Page, Trevor Robinson, Jonathan Baldwin, ??) did this weekend, that'd be greatly appreciated!

 

[laxkid23]

Try Maxpreps.com, they have some stats over there.

 

[GoIrish41]

I bet he was really impressed with that line he'll be running behind if he comes to ND.

 

[bostonirish1908]

I saw him today walking through campus, he was with an athletic personel guy and Jason Sapp and they were explainging to him how the players walk through campus to the stadium, he is a small guy

 

[Junkhead]

I bet he was really impressed with that line he'll be running behind if he comes to ND.

Todays game probably didn't help the ongoing WR and RB recruiting either.

 

[johnnd05]

The Frostproof Bulldogs used the strong running of Carlton Thomas to post a 14-0 win over Victory Christian before about 1,000 fans at Faris Brannen Stadium in the season opener for both teams Friday night.

Thomas followed up his 228 yards in the kickoff classic against George Jenkins with 285 yards and one touchdown against the Storm defense, despite sitting out much of the second half because of cramps.

...

Thomas, who is being recruited by Notre Dame among other teams, broke open a 7-0 game three minutes into the fourth quarter after he took a handoff at his own goal line, broke two tackles and outran the Storm secondary for a 98-yard touchdown.

The only negative play he made all night was a holding call, which brought back a Bulldog touchdown.

(link)

 

[johnnd05]

Per IK:

Carlton was accually IMPRESSED by his GT visit. He was impressed with our fans no matter what the score was. He says ND STILL leads, good news.

 

[johnnd05]

Here are Carlton's stats from last week's loss, from ESPN:

Carlton Thomas held in check as Frostproof goes down

ESPNU All-American running back Charlton Thomas was limited to 84 yards on 25 carries (3.4 average), including 11 rushes of two yards or less as Frostproof lost 14-13 to Lake Region (Eagle Lake, Fla.), The Ledger reports.

 

[johnnd05]

I just saw another report that Carlton still has us as his solid #1 after his visit for the GT game.

As hard as it is to do this given how bad the season has been, let me offer a half-hearted .

 

[mikejND]

Well I won't get excited until he has visited the remaining schools. Hopefully we'll be number one when it's all said and done.

 

[GoshenGipper]

Carlton has now scheduled two of his four remaining official visits. They are Iowa (Oct 13) and W.Virginia (Oct 20). The remaining two visits will go to either Clemson, Georgia, or Rutgers.

 

[Z-Bo]

IMHO, in a world where everything is equal, Rutgers is by far and away the toughest competition for him. They are a college on the rise academically and athletically. Add to that Rice going to the pros this year and if I was Carlton Thomas, Rutgers would be my #2 option to Notre Dame.

BUT... this isn't a world in a vacuum. This is 17 year old boys playing craps.