Elijah Thomas ended his recruitment on Tuesday by picking Texas A&M where he will team up with his friend Admon Gilder, who was at Thomas’s announcement along with fellow A&M pledges D.J. Hogg and Tyler Davis.
The 6-foot-9 Thomas out of Lancaster (TX) also considered SMU, Oklahoma State, LSU and Illinois.
“He is really good friends with Admon, they have always wanted to play together,” one coach at a school recruiting Thomas told SNY.tv.
“Then you’ve got Texas A&M and my bruh just committed there,” Thomas told USA Today in his recent blog. “If I went there that would make 4 of the top 5 in the state committed there. They were the first to offer me a scholarship when I was in the eighth grade and I’m close with the team and the coaches. So I know it would be a good look.”
Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy now has a blockbuster recruiting class with Thomas, Gilder, Hogg and Davis, giving him the nucleus of a club that should challenge in the SEC West for the next several years after they arrive on campus.
“That’s a very good class,” longtime New York recruiting guru Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “[Thomas] is a very skilled guy who is fighting the battle of the bulge. Conditioning is key with him. He’s got to tighten his body and get in better shape. He’s very skilled. He can handle the ball and pass it. He has surprisingly agile feet for the weight he carries.
“Especially if they want to play an athletic game at Texas A&M, he’s got to build up his stamina and re-sculpt his body. You wouldn’t really describe him as athletic, but he’s a big guy with very good skills.
“Putting him together with Tyler Davis, who’s a legitimate low-post player, and D.J. Hogg, who can shoot the 3, and Admon Gilder, who’s a very good guard, that’s a tremendous class overall. With a state the size of Texas and the talent that they produce, that is quite a recruiting coup.
“When you’re in a state that produces good players, you’ve got to secure your boundaries, and that’s what they’ve done.”
