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Oakland OL checks out Boise State

Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds offensive lineman Thomas Byrd has narrowed his choices to Boise State and San Jose State and took his first official visit this past weekend. Will he still take a second visit or a decision imminent?
Byrd, 6-0, 270 pounds took a visit to Boise State this past weekend, a trip that was initially supposed to be a mid-week visit a few weeks ago.
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"Thomas was going to visit Boise State when they played Fresno State a few weeks ago but I had to bong that one," Warrior coach Alonzo Carter said. "That was during a time when I felt all my players were focusing a little too much on recruiting and not enough on football so I told the kids like Thomas, Kyler (O'Neal) and Willie (Griffin) that they had to wait until the end of the season to take a visit.
"I was never really worried about Thomas because he always stayed focused. He had a big time showing at the NIKE Camp at Stanford where he took on a couple of big name defensive linemen and put them on their back. That's when Boise State and San Jose State both offered.
"A lot of other schools liked him but all just felt he was too short. If he was a couple of inches taller, he would probably have offers from everyone. Thomas has really had a strong season and carried over his NIKE performance to the regular season. He has gone out and dominated people."
As for his visit to Boise State;
"Thomas loved it and actually gave a lot of thought to committing," Carter said. "He loved the campus, the players on the team and especially the coaches there. They're recruiting him at center and he sees an opportunity to play there. Really the main reason he's not committing is because I reminded him that San Jose State was his first offer and deserves a chance to impress him on a visit as well.
"Thomas completely agreed with that and realizes San Jose State has been with him from the beginning. It's not just about loyalty, Thomas does like San Jose State and wants to have something to compare Boise State to. He's going to visit there (Dec. 1) and I told him the offer from Boise will still be there, that's just a couple of weeks from now and then he'll be prepared to compare the two and make a solid decision."
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