South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and running backs coach Marquel Blackwell did their best to impress RB Amari Thomas (6-0 195) on his official visit last weekend. The Gamecocks offered Thomas in September, but he committed to Florida State in January. Still, the Gamecocks stayed the course with him and got him to campus for a second time.
“It was a great experience, I can’t lie,” Thomas said. “I loved it down there, being honest. I love the coaches. I love everything they talk. I love what they firmly stand on and the opportunities they will give me if I were to go there. They’ve been calling me every day now. You can tell they really want me, and I could be that guy, possibly. They just believe in me.”
Thomas also spent a lot of time visiting with offensive coordinator Mike Shula. He wanted to learn how the offense might work with him in it. He got his answer from Shula.
“They put it in like a Christian McCaffrey scheme,” Thomas said. “I think I catch the ball really good, and I can run the ball really good. They put schemes together, and I like how the offense operates. Coach Shula, that’s a great man. I think he runs his offense in a very schematic way of how he wants to win football games and what he wants to do using that type of offense. I think it’s a good offense overall.”
Thomas has narrowed his final decision to USC, Kentucky and Florida State, and he said the commitment to the Seminoles remains in place at this point. He will visit Kentucky this weekend and is scheduled to visit Florida State on June 20th.
Last season, Thomas rushed for 1880 yards and 34 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he rushed for 1365 yards and 22 touchdowns.