‘I’m locked in and we are coming back’ … 5-star TE Landen Thomas talks FSU, season opening-win

MOULTRIE — It was the moment Colquitt County (Ga.) five-star tight end Landen Thomas had been waiting for all summer. After months of work and preparation, Thomas’ senior season of high school finally kicked off this past Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

While he didn’t put up huge numbers individually, the Florida State commit more than made his mark as the Packers opened up a 28-point halftime lead and rolled to a 48-17 win over Dutch Fork.

The Colquitt County offense did much of its damage on the ground, and Thomas helped spring several of those long runs with impressive blocks.

“It feels good being back out here with my teammates,” Thomas told Warchant after the season-opening rout. “Coming into the game, we wanted to do a lot of blocking on the edge, for me to get the running game to set the tone. Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do it.”

While much of his effort contributed to the running game on this night, Thomas also was targeted three times through the air and registered 41 receiving yards.

The five-star prospect could have had a bigger night as well, as he appeared to be in position to bring in a 35-yard touchdown pass, but a Dutch Fork defender pulled him down before the ball arrived and was flagged for pass interference.

“When we were watching film on Dutch Fork, we saw they like to run a lot of two-high [safeties],” Thomas said. “So we ran crosses over the middle and then hit some outs and hitches for the deeper throws to the receivers.”

**Additional Observations on Landen Thomas and Colquitt from Saturday night**

While his primary focus right now is on his own season, Thomas is also extremely excited to see how the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles fare against the No. 5 LSU Tigers on Sept. 3 in Orlando.

“I can’t go because we have practice on Sunday, but I wish I could,” Thomas said. “I’m excited about this team. There’s a lot of improvement with this team. We have had a lot of doubters before the season started, but now we just have to prove everyone wrong.”

The five-star commit is also aware of how well Florida State is recruiting the Peach State in this 2024 recruiting cycle. After landing five-star safety KJ Bolden earlier this month, the Seminoles now have four of the top 10 players from the state of Georgia committed to FSU.

“It feels great. Florida State is on the come-up now,” Thomas said. “I think for a lot of guys, it’s right there and easy to get to. But It’s the feeling around the program and what they are doing. When KJ committed, I didn’t even know he was coming and thought he was going to Georgia. It surprised me.

“It means a lot to get a guy like KJ and shows how much of a threat FSU is in recruiting.”

While Thomas isn’t the type of player who is going to reach out to recruits he doesn’t know to sell them on Florida State, he does have some teammates and friends in his sights.

Four-star receiver Ny Carr, who is committed to Georgia, and defensive end Tyshon Reed, who is committed to Duke, are two players he would love to see wear the garnet and gold in college. But he acknowledged that both seem comfortable right now with their current commitments.

“When I talk with other recruits about FSU, I tell them I’m locked in and we are coming back,” Thomas said. “We are going to be in the national championship.”

Even though he won’t make the LSU game in person, Thomas said he plans to attend several Florida State games inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

“A lot of them,” he said. “I will be at the Miami game and Virginia Tech, and probably the game against Duke.”

***See more stats from FSU commits and targets in our Friday Night Rewind***

More on Florida State’s 2024 Recruiting Class

For a deeper look into Florida State’s 2024 recruiting class player by player, check out their official On3 team commitment list. Also you can find out where Florida State stacks up against the top teams in the country with On3’s Industry Ranking page.

***Discuss this article with FSU football fans on the Premium Recruiting Board.***

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