Two stand out for QB Thomas

Pete Thomas visited Boston College and liked the campus, the coaching staff and the facilities but the Eagles received a commitment from Saline, Mich., quarterback Joe Boisture, ending their recruiting at that position.

Thomas then went to Maryland and the same thing happened. He got along with the coaches and players, liked the campus and thought the Terrapins could be a top team. But then they took Easton (Pa.) Wilson's Tyler Smith as the only quarterback in their class.

Thomas, a 6-foot-5 pro-style quarterback from El Cajon (Calif.) Valhalla, has hit a bit of bad luck so far on the recruiting trail but so many schools are interested in him it's difficult to get too down about his situation.

"Maryland was definitely at the top of my list after I went out there, they were up there with Northwestern and Arizona State and that guy committed and they said they were going to take two and then he committed and they said they were only taking him," Thomas said. "That's fine. That's the direction they wanted to go. The same thing happened at BC where someone else committed.

"It's kind of disappointing because I was really interested in both of those schools. They both have great coaching staffs, play in the ACC, I thought I fit in really well with the players. I definitely wish it wouldn't have happened but that's the game if you want to call it that.

"That's the way it works. If those guys are ready to commit, that's fine. I wasn't ready to commit and I'm still not, that's part of it. No hard feelings. I had really good relationships with those coaching staffs."

Northwestern and Arizona State are the offers for Thomas, who threw for 3,169 yards with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. Rivals.com rates him the No. 13 pro-style quarterback in the 2010 class. Both schools that have offered are showing a tremendous amount of interest.

"I've been talking to coach (Bryce) Erickson probably once a week and I've talked to their offensive coordinator a lot," said Thomas of Arizona State, where he plans to take another visit next month. "I'm just going back out there to get more familiar with the facilities, the campus and the coaches. They're only five hours away so it's not that bad of a drive.

"I talk to coach (Mick) McCall (at Northwestern) about once a week, sometimes twice a week. He was at my school on Tuesday so I got to talk to him a little bit. The schools that have offered I pretty much talk to them a lot."

A bunch of schools have been out to see Thomas throw since the spring evaluation period started. Notre Dame, Tennessee, Oregon State, Colorado, Arizona State, Boise State and Washington have been by once. Kentucky has seen Thomas twice. Earlier this week Southern Cal and Arizona were expected to visit.

Since Thomas has already seen two schools – Boston College and Maryland – take quarterbacks and then shut it down, a quick decision might be expected but Thomas said he's going to make the best choice for him with the timetable of his choosing.

"It's always in the back of my mind, that's for sure, but Northwestern and Arizona State, I love both of those schools so it's going to be a tough decision no matter what if you have 10 offers or four," Thomas said. "But it's definitely in the back of my min