Say hello to your newest Buckeye, tight end Blake Thomas, the 7th commitment for the Buckeyes in the 2012 class.
Thomas didn’t receive an offer from Ohio State until last week, but it was clearly the one he was waiting for and it didn’t take him long to decide that Columbus was the place for him.
Blake has good size (6’4″ 240 lbs) to go along with the speed and quickness to get separation from defenders in the secondary. He is great at creating match up problems for linebackers in the open field like any good tight end should.
He also does not shy away from contact while carrying the ball and at the line of scrimmage. He isn’t the greatest blocker at the moment, but he has the mentality necessary to turn into a good one with the right coaching and strength program (Ohio State has those more than covered).
While not as highly regarded as some of the other tight end prospects that the Buckeyes have offered in the class, Thomas provides a lot of versatility in how he can be utilized on offense. He reminds me of former Buckeye TE/FB Stan White Jr. (who was a highly rated LB in HS) and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the coaching staff utilize Thomas in a similar fashion.
Finally, as I mentioned in our most recent recruiting update (that we rushed out yesterday morning because it was pretty clear that this commitment was going to happen sooner rather than later), Thomas is from St. Ignatius, a traditional Ohio football power and a program worth keeping a pipeline open to.
Following Blake’s commitment, it will be interesting to see what Ohio State does concerning the other three TE prospects they have targeted in the 2012 class. Regardless, Ohio State has brought another in-state player into the fold and for that we can be thankful.
Highlights can be found here.
Welcome to Buckeye Nation Blake!
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