The Recruiting Guy

Hermitage's Thomas has all the makings of D-I prospect

Athlete Monta Thomas is one of the top 2017 prospects in the state.

Arkansas, Memphis, Ole Miss, Arkansas State and others have made their way to Hermitage this spring to evaluate sophomore athlete Monta Thomas, who’s one of the top 2017 prospects in the state.

Thomas, 5-11, 195 pounds shows excellent quickness and burst of speed that gives him a chance to play on either side of the ball in college. Video highlights CLICK HERE

He has talked to Razorback tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. about where he stands.

“He said if I can get the grades, they’re going to offer me,” said Thomas, who has about a 2.8 grade point average.

He plans to attend Memphis’ camp next week and an Arkansas camp in June. He had a best time of 10.90 seconds in the 100 meters this spring along with a long jump of 22-11 and 6-4 in the high jump.

Thomas said he’s been timed at 4.40 seconds in the 40 yard dash at the school and a college camp.

“I think it was at the Louisiana Tech camp,” Thomas said.

He looked up to his grandfather, Earl Thomas, who passed away about three years ago at the age of 67 of cancer, for advice.

“I play for him,” Thomas said.

Offensively, Thomas rushed 80 times for 799 yards, 8 touchdowns and had 18 receptions for 341 yards, 4 touchdowns while also completing 10 of 19 passes for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns this past season. He recorded 91 tackles while playing at outside linebacker.

Football is therapeutic for Thomas.

“If I have a bad day, I take it out on the field and do the best I possibly can,” he said. “My grandpa always told me to be a leader not a follower. So I try to lead people on the team and encourage people when they’re doing bad and just have fun.”

Thomas, who’s being recruited to play receiver or cornerback by the Hogs, said a scholarship offer from the Razorbacks would be dream come true.

“I grew up watching Arkansas,” Thomas said. “My cousins and I always talked about how we were going to play football for Arkansas and how we’re going to be like Darren McFadden, Matt Jones and Felix Jones. We admired them and we always said he wanted to go play football at Arkansas.”