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YSU lands East’s Thomas
By JOE SCALZO
YOUNGSTOWN
Soon after YSU coach Eric Wolford was hired, he went to East High School to visit his former Brookfield classmate, Brian Shaner.
He also went to do a little scouting.
“I was in the weight room one day and he called me over and wanted to talk to me,” said East WR/DB Mike Thomas. “The first thing he said was, ‘Wow, I’ve seen your video and you’ve got a lot of talent.’
“He said I was a great player with great ability and he wants to see me playing Saturdays at Youngstown State.”
On Tuesday, Thomas accepted the offer, becoming the fourth area player from the Class of 2011 — and sixth overall — to verbally commit to the Penguins.
“I think the No. 1 thing he brings to the table is he’s a great character kid,” said Shaner. “He’s gonna do any program good. He’s a great face out in the public and in front of the fans as well as being a great football player.”
Thomas, a two-time first team all-City Series selection, caught 32 passes for 648 yards and nine TDs last fall for the Panthers (3-7). He also earned second team all-district honors and has been a member of three state-level relays during the past two track seasons, helping the Panthers’ 4x100-meter relay finish fifth in June — the best finish in school history.
Thomas (5-10, 170) impressed YSU’s coaches at this year’s summer camp as they came away feeling he was the best defensive back at the camp.
“He’s a can’t-miss prospect,” said Shaner. “He’s gonna go into Youngstown ready to compete for job.”
Thomas approached Shaner as sophomore and told him he was going to start, a vow he backed up until injuring his knee. He emerged as a team captain this fall and was named East’s offensive MVP and the City Series offensive MVP.
“After my freshman year, I knew I needed to step it up another level,” said Thomas, who plans to major in business technology. “Once I told Coach Shaner that I wanted to be a starter as a sophomore, I woke up every morning and went through two-a-days and conditioning and game day and worked as hard as I could to get where I wanted to be.
“That’s gotten me where I’m at now and that’s going to get me to the next level.”
Thomas joins Girard WR Landon Smith, West Branch OL Brandon Ferguson and Fitch DE Steve Zaborsky as area 2011 recruits for the Penguins.
Thomas is the first City Series recruit for Wolford, who was a year ahead of Shaner at Brookfield before transferring to Ursuline before his junior year. East High graduate Gary Thornton, a fullback, is the only other Panther to commit to YSU in the school’s four-year history. Thornton redshirted two years ago and was injured last fall. He is now at Walsh University.