By: Chad Wilson – Editor – Gridiron Studs Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds
There was a time when a high school athlete was just that. In the Fall he played football, in the Winter he played basketball, in the Spring he would run track and in the Summer he’d play baseball. Those days are gone. Now, coaches want you in their sport year round and only the finest of athletes can convince a coach to play another sport and leave a coach’s eye sight for a couple of months. Chaminade Madonna High School’s Justin Thomas Jr. is that guy.
Thomas is one of only a few kids in South Florida that excel in both football and baseball. On the football field, the 6’1″ 185 lb. specimen throws his weight around like a FedEx worker tosses packages into his truck. Thomas is that new breed of defensive back that has imposing size and athleticism. He makes good use of it tracking down ball carriers and ramming into them full speed. He also uses his speed to go get ball carriers that break free and believe they will find the end zone. Thomas shows no fear on the gridiron and was one of the top players for the Lions during their 2014 season. He will most certainly be the anchor of the defense in 2015 as the coaching staff finds a variety of ways to use his athletic talents.
Thomas’ size makes him available to play in the box versus run heavy attacks and his instincts give him an edge when they drop him back to the hash or deep middle of the field. When the situation calls for it, Thomas can also line up in the slot and handle anything from a jittery WR to an athletic TE. His skills make him a utility knife that can equalize the production of an offense’s best player. His skill set will be part Kam Chancellor and part Aquib Talib. He’s really what college programs are looking for these days. In the football offseason, Thomas takes his toughness to the baseball diamond where he excels at the sport. His hand eye coordination, balance and quickness are all developed to the max on the diamond and pay off dividends for him when he returns to the gridiron. Thomas is a throw back that has developed a wide range of skills by being a two sport athlete. His attributes allow him to deliver the hard hits on the football field and the base hits on the diamond. He’ll definitely be a recruiting hit for the college program that signs him in 2016.
Check out Justin Thomas Jr.’s
Junior Season Highlight Video – Click Here
Chad Wilson is a college football recruiting expert and creator of the GridironStudsApp which allows high school football players to gain exposure to college football coaches and fans. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a former youth and high school football coach for over 15 years most recently for 5-A State of Florida Champs American Heritage. He runs All Eyes DB Camp a defensive back training company located in South Florida IG: @alleyesdbcamp. Wilson’s oldest son Quincy plays in the NFL for the New York Giants and his younger son plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.
