Solomon Thomas, country’s No. 23 junior, gets ‘different’ experience during Sunday’s Florida visit
Solomon Thomas of Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines is one of the top offensive linemen in the country for the 2025 class. And when he visited Florida on Sunday, he was treated as such.
“It was really good,” Thomas told Gators Online. “I got a lot more one-on-one time to talk to the coaches personally. .. I’ve been there so many times, but this time was a bit different.”
Thomas, listed at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, is the No. 23 recruit in the country according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s the No. 4 offensive tackle in the class and No. 4 rising junior in the state of Florida.
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In Gainesville, much of Thomas’ time was spent with “the O-Line coaches and Coach (Billy) Napier.”
“I spent a lot of time in (Napier’s) room with him telling me about his vision for me and the team,” Thomas said. “He knows I’m going to be a leader. He knows and I know. I’m going to prove him right.”
Solomon Thomas liked bonding with the UF coaches
Thomas said his assessment of Florida offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton is that they are tough but fair, demanding but also people who develop their players.
“My offensive line coach in high school is the same thing,” Thomas noted.
He added, “The best part (Sunday) was just being able to get that one-on-one time. We went over film and I understand the way they set up their plays. I was telling Coach Sale — and my mom was telling him too, even with the national rankings I’m still fresh to the game. I don’t want to be coming to a school thinking I just know everything; I want to learn. And I want to be able to get on the field and still be taught at the same time.”
Thomas also had the opportunity to chat with Roderick Kearney, a freshman offensive lineman from the greater Jacksonville area. The two know each other well.
“He was just telling me it’s a great place,” Thomas said. “I told him where I went before UF and he said it’s not like it is (in Gainesville). It’s a great program and he said even if he got hurt and couldn’t play he’d still love to be at UF.”
Overall, Thomas gave the visit an “8” and said he planned to return for a game this season.
“I like Florida,” he said. “What I like is the program away from football. It’s a great program away from football. People have them counted out because of last year’s season. But they lost five games by a touchdown. … it feels like this next 2024 class will be great, and of course the 2025 class will be even better.”
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