Many players talk about finding a school with the best combination of academics and athletics but few take that as seriously as Thomas Booker. The Rivals250 defensive lineman from Baltimore (Md.) Gilman School has a final five of Harvard, Notre Dame, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Stanford and is getting ready to announce his commitment. Booker broke down his finalists and his decision-making process exclusively with Rivals.com.
IN HIS OWN WORDS…
“I’m very close to a decision,” Booker said. “I’ll possibly commit this weekend. It’s looking like that’s when I’ll be making my decision.
“I want a school that blends academics and athletics in a way that neither one of them are compromised,” he said. “I think that all the schools on my list do a fantastic job of it. It’s more about picking which one does it best for me specifically. One other thing that will differentiate them is what their strengths are in the fields that I’m interested in, economics and technology. It will be the school where I can best pursue those interests while playing football and create the best bonds with students outside of the football team so I can create relationships that I can leverage for years to come. I think the alumni programs at all of the schools are very important in terms of their abilities for somebody to reach out who is an alumnus and actually further their careers in that way. I think alumni connections are an overlooked part of the process but it’s very important.
Harvard- “Like Princeton, depending on where you look, Harvard is the number one or number two school in the country,” said Booker. “They are very well-known in the fields of economics and technology, the two fields I’m most interested in. When I was a freshman, Harvard was one of the first schools my family and I looked at when we started thinking about colleges and college football. I think coach (Jeremy) Bandy and coach (Tim) Murphy have done an incredible job of attracting and coaching guys that are looking for a world class education and football experience. They also frequently compete for the Ivy League championship so there is no compromise between getting a great education and competing for championships and that’s something I’m looking for.”
Notre Dame- “Ever since Notre Dame offered me and really before that I looked at Notre Dame as a fantastic institution,” he said. “When they did offer me and I got to go on my first unofficial visit, I got to go to a class and meet with academic advisors. On my official visit I got to meet the Dean of Admissions, Jack Swarbrick, who is actually also an economist which is cool because I got to talk to him about economics at Notre Dame compared to other places. I greatly appreciated his insights. Going to classes and see what the students are like on a daily basis was really important to me. I tried to do that at every school I visited to make sure I see myself there as a football player and going to classes every day like a normal student.
“In terms of the student life that I got a sense of while I was there, the students made me feel very comfortable there and I feel like I got a good look at what life at Notre Dame would look like,” Booker said. “It felt like a place that really appreciated the entire person, the athlete, the student, and I think there is a different thing about Notre Dame when it comes to spirituality and the way they approach that. They’re a faith-based university and it’s not just one religion, as some people might think. That’s something that really permeates through the identity of the university. I think the academics, the mesh with the football program, and seeing how those things interact are the biggest drivers for me. I think spirituality and the faith-based nature o fthe university absolutely helps it because they do a fantastic job of not making people feel isolated.
“On the football side, they have so much tradition,” he said. “I think they’ve been selling out the stadium since 1974. The game day atmosphere is incredible. I remember getting to do the game day walk with the team and seeing the fans’ enthusiasm for Notre Dame and the football team was incredible. Being on the field before the game was incredible. Seeing the fans and the way they cheered on their football team was something I had never been a part of before. I had never been to a college football game that had that sort of atmosphere before. They produce great players, especially at my position. Somebody like Justin Tuck is a pretty good standard for people. From my school, Victor Abiamiri and Ambrose Wooden not only had successful football careers at Notre Dame but have also transitioned into professional life remarkably well. Both are business executives and are Gilman graduates. It’s good to see people that went to my school and did similar things to me can have success at Notre Dame academically and athletically.
“Coach (Mike) Elston, coach (Mike) Elko, and coach (Brian) Kelly have done a fantastic job of presenting what Notre Dame is as a football program and an academic institution,” said Booker. “I really appreciate coach Elston because he’s given me great insight on how to become a better defensive lineman with my techniques. They are very detailed oriented and you can see that in the way they work. He’s been recruiting me for a long time and I’ve developed a great relationship with him.”
Pennsylvania- “I have an interesting story about my family’s relationship with the University of Pennsylvania,” he said. “My great-aunt was one of the first African-American women to attend the university in the 1920s. My uncle and cousin also graduated from the university. My cousin’s graduation was just a couple years ago. I have a history there and I’ve been around the university for graduations.
“The Wharton School of Business is one of the top undergraduate business schools in the country,” Booker said. “Another intriguing thing for me was the fact that it has a history of attracting athletes who are not only successful athletes but also become successful businessmen. Brandon Copeland, a Gilman alumni that I know personally, is now pursuing business. He is a NFL player. I think he got injured this season but because of his connections and the education he received at the University of Pennsylvania he was able to transition pretty smoothly into the business side of things.
“Coach (Ray) Priore and coach (Bob) Benson have been really fantastic to me throughout my recruiting process,” he said. “They’ve taken the time to understand who I am and what I want to do with my college education and football career. Through talks with them, they’ve done a fantastic job assuring me that I can do everything that I want to do at the University of Pennsylvania. I really respect them for that.”
Princeton- “Princeton is another school that has been pretty heavily tied to my family,” said Booker. “My sister went there so I kind of feel like I grew up on that campus, going to visit her on break, going to see football games, and interacting with the students even though I was 10 or 11 at that point. I’ve gotten a good feel for the university not only from the visits that I’ve done recently but just because my sister is a graduate and we were constantly up there. Just like a lot of the other universities in my top five, they set the gold standard for an undergraduate education and it’s number one or number two, depending on whatever rankings website you look at. That’s always a thing to think about. It is one of the top schools in the country for economists. Economics is one of the areas that I’m most interested in. Seeing that there are fantastic minds at work there, my sister personally took a class with (former Chairman of the Federal Reserve) Ben Bernanke in macroeconomics, I believe, and the fact that you could have such esteemed teachers that are actually policy makers and change makers in the areas that you’re interested in just speaks to the quality of the university and the popularity of it. I say that hearing that from my sister and having her talk about all of her experiences there not just with economics because she had Toni Morrison come teach one of her classes.
“I think they just landed a fantastic quarterback from the west coast in Brevin White,” he said. “Obviously they’ve been recruiting great guys. I think coach (Bob) Surace and coach (Steve) Verbit, through their dedication to developing not only a great football player but a great person, have really been showcasing the kids and what people should be looking for in a college education and a football program. That’s attracting great athletes and great students.”
Stanford- “Getting to take a visit to Stanford a couple weeks ago was incredible,” Booker said. “We got to see Bryce Love rush for 301-yards I think. He accelerates in a way that I never really seen before. Football-wise, they play a really physical brand of football that reminds me of how we play at Gilman. I think coach Shaw has a unique approach to blend that physicality with an intellectuality that is fresh and it’s been working. Coach (David) Shaw is really an extension of Stanford’s culture of excellence. They have a lot of excellent things going on there in terms of their students and their faculty. I’d say the football program is no aberration.
“In terms of the university and what it embodies, I think the big thing that I‘ve taken away from Stanford is that it’s a school that teaches you things and knowledge that you can apply,” he said. “Not only theoretical things that are lofty but actual things so you can solve problems the very first day you walk out of the university. I think that’s pretty powerful. I took an economics and a black science fiction class two summers ago. The black science fiction class was a study of black science fiction authors. I don’t think you find that class in many other places. It was a great class for me because it wasn’t an area that I had explored before and I think those sorts of classes that stretch you mind out is pretty powerful. After taking those classes for a summer, I got a really good feel for what the academics are like there. Another thing that’s pretty big for me is Stanford’s proximity to Silicon Valley. All of those companies are at the forefront of today’s economy.
“In the application process, I’m pretty early on with it,” said Booker. “I’m pretty early on with a lot of the applications. I’m trying to get me essays right and do the right thing there because you can’t take those things for granted.”
RIVALS’ REACTION…
By most measures, Booker is exceptional and, judging by his offer sheet and finalists, he has a bright future ahead of him on and off the football field. The draw to the Ivy League schools is legitimate. He could possibly join Brevin White and make Princeton the only Ivy Leagues school to ever land two four-star prospects in the same recruiting class. Booker was careful to not give away any hints about which school he might choose but the fact that he participated in a summer program at Stanford even before they offered is very telling. Notre Dame was viewed as the favorite prior to Stanford offering but since then the picture has become less clear. Expect an announcement from Booker on Sunday if it does come this weekend.
