He grew up a Florida and Florida State fan, but 175-pound running back Khalid Thomas had a bigger tie to Kentucky — his brother, Kadeem, is a freshman linebacker for the Wildcats — and now the Tallahassee standout has decided he also wants to be a Wildcat.
Thomas rushed for 958 yards and 16 touchdowns on 133 carries last season for Godby High School and also had 421 yards receiving. On defense, he made 17 tackles and had two interceptions. He will be a four-year starter at running back and three-year starter at defensive back, but he's projected as an offensive player in college.
Thomas, who has a 3.4 grade-point average, also bucks a trend of 2013 UK commitments who had not had a bevvy of big-time offers. He had scholarship offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, North Carolina State, Maryland and South Florida
“I was open to going to different places,” Thomas told Tallahassee.com Sunday night. “When I thought about it, Kentucky was what was I looking for in a college. The major. How the city’s like. I was thinking about it (Sunday). It just felt like right place for me. I fell in love with the coaching staff and the campus. Plus, my brother is up there.”
Godby coach Ronnie Cottrell told Tallahassee.com he could sense his star player was relieved to have his recruiting decision made so he could focus on his senior season.
“As a coach, you’re most thankful to hear that," Cottrell said
Thomas is Kentucky's 10th commitment in the 2013 class — and fifth commit from Florida.
The 5-9 Thomas will not be a power back in the Southeastern Conference, but he has the speed to make plays on the perimeter — something UK lacked last season after the departure of Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke. He's also shown the ability in high school to make tacklers miss in the open field, one reason he could possibly be a slot receiver at Kentucky.
