Miami DL pledge plans visits

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Rivals100 presented by Under Armour prospect Chad Thomas has been firmly committed to Miami since July, but he plans to take a few official visits in the coming months.

On Friday night, Thomas helped his team advance to the Class 4A state semifinals with a win over Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School. The four-star defender recorded a sack and promptly threw up the "U" after his big play.

Thomas said he stays in touch with the Miami coaches regularly, but other programs have been in touch about setting up trips after the season.

"The Miami season started off great, but they had a couple letdowns recently," stated Thomas. "I know they are going to fight back to the way they were. I'm going to take visits, but I'm still with Miami right now. That's my school."

Schools like Alabama, Florida State, and Louisville will likely get visits in January. Thomas visited Alabama and FSU over the summer for the team's summer camps. Upon returning home from Tallahassee following the Jimbo Fisher Camp he committed to Miami citing location and academics.

What is he looking to see this time around?

"The last time I was up there it was strictly a business trip, I was just up there to work" remarked Thomas. "I didn't get a chance to see everything around the school. When I was at Alabama I had a meeting with Coach (Nick) Saban. We set some time aside to talk about the school, but he was busy. When I talked to them I talk directly to Coach Saban and then Coach (Mario) Cristobal a little bit. It was the same thing with Coach (Jimbo) Fisher. Next time I want to sit down with all of the coaches and things like that."

He admitted the schools recruiting him "will have to fight hard" to get him to reconsider.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder said his family wants him close to home, but at the end of the day it's his decision.

"Location is important, but my family is behind me with my decision," noted Thomas. "I can go wherever I want to go."

Kynon Codrington is a Southeast Region football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.