Bayou star has three in front

New Iberia, La., offensive guard Zhamal Thomas flew under the radar early in the recruiting process. Now his talents have been brought to light and he has a long list of scholarship offers, but three schools stand atop his list.

"LSU, Mississippi State and Arkansas are my top three schools right now," Thomas said. "I'm still looking a little bit at some other schools, but those three are the main ones right now. They are all pretty even at this point."

The 6-foot-4, 335-pound Thomas runs the 40-yard dash in five seconds flat and is tremendously strong.

"LSU is the home state school and a part of me has always wanted to go there," Thomas said. "I have had a chance to talk to the coaches at Arkansas and I know one of the players up there and he has been telling me about it and gave me good advice. I watched Mississippi State last year on TV a lot and I liked what I saw. It is a good school and I think I would fit in well there."

Thomas is ranked as the No. 14 player in the state of Louisiana by Rivals.com and projects as a three star prospect.

"I want to go to a place that has a good social life," Thomas said. "I will be looking for a school where the team is together and everyone likes each other and gets a long. I think the relationship with the coaches will be important too."

Thomas has already attended camp at LSU this summer, where he was named MVP, and he is leaving Friday for a camp at Arkansas.

"When I was at LSU's camp I talked to the offensive and defensive line coaches," Thomas said. "I also talked to coach Miles and they were just telling me how much they wanted me in their program and how I would fit in."