Thomas ready to set officials

Detroit Country Day offensive lineman Poet Thomas is looking at an offer list that includes eight schools from across the country. He has not seen a majority of those programs in person yet, but will look to do that this fall with official visits.

"I haven't set up any yet, but I am looking to set them up here probably this week," Thomas said. "Florida, Colorado, Kansas, SMU and Texas A&M - those schools will for sure get an official visit."

Texas A&M is the one school on Thomas' expected official visit list that has not yet offered, but the interest from the Aggies has increased in recent months.

"They have been coming into play really strong here and I will take a visit there more than likely," Thomas said. "They want to see a little more film before they extend me an offer. They have seen my highlight tape but want to see more of me on offense at left tackle."

Thomas' recruitment kicked off in earnest back in February with an offer from Florida, and the Gators remain a strong contender for the Detroit-area prospect's services.

"I have been talking to them off and on this summer. My schedule has conflicted with theirs a little bit, so we talk when we can. To my understanding they lost a lineman or two who decommitted, so that kind of opens up my eyes to them."

An offer from Colorado followed up the Gators offer back in February, and Thomas also remains interested in seeing Boulder for himself this fall.

"When I go out there I'm really looking to meet more coaches, see what the environment is like and see what Colorado is really about because I have never been there before," Thomas said. "I know Coach E.B. [Eric Bienemy] really well and talk to him a lot. He was actually friends with one of my high school basketball coaches."

Thomas also has connections to SMU's program. They recruited one of his childhood acquaintances, Prescott Line, down to Dallas in the class of 2012.

"We played together really all the way up through middle school, so I know Prescott a little bit," Thomas said. "SMU… they seem to have a lot of interest in me."

When Thomas begins scheduling his official visits later this week, he will look for dates that coincide with home football games at these universities. He does not expect to take his recruitment into the winter and is eyeing an early November timetable for a decision.

"I'm just looking for a home, a place to perform well and maybe even play early in my career," Thomas said. "I just want to see everything for myself before I commit anywhere. I'm going to be looking to find those red-letter games for these schools and seeing how those turn out."