The plan for Curlee Thomas IV was to take all five official visits and wait until his birthday, July 11th, to make a decision. Like many plans in the last year, that went out the window Friday, as Thomas had been through enough of the process to make his choice, announcing a commitment to Cal Friday afternoon.
"I didn’t want to commit until I went through the process." Thomas told Golden Bear Report via Twitter DM, "It’s a four year commitment both athletically and education wise. I wanted to compare my experiences then commit on my birthday. I have 42 scholarship offers to 42 amazing programs, but ultimately it came down to what school prepared me better for life if I didn’t get drafted. Cal was that school for me. Cal has struggled a little football wise recently, and I saw a opportunity to be part of bringing it back to a national contender. The Cal brand and alumni base stretches across the country and I knew that would be something that would cultivate me career wise and once football was over."
In addition, there was another, pertinent piece to his commitment.
"The weather didn’t hurt either," Thomas joked.
Cal has penciled in Thomas as an edge rusher, utilizing pass rushing skills, setting the edge, and occasionally dropping into coverage. They had been on Thomas since last September, with Andrew Browning and Keith Heyward (when he joined Cal's staff), pushing hard for the Nolan Catholic standout. The consistent push worked.
"Cal, outside of Texas Tech, stressed I was their guy and their main target," Thomas noted, "You always want to go somewhere you are a priority. The point was made by Coach Wilcox as well so I knew it was real."
Thomas also joins Nate Burrell and Jaxson Moi in that first weekend of June group of visitors to commit to Cal. The two defensive line commits had been on Thomas since then to join them.
"We gelled pretty well," Thomas recalled. "They have been on me to commit since I left Berkeley."
The next step for Thomas is two-fold. He may graduate early to enroll in January, but he's looking toward winning a state title.
"I plan on just focusing on potentially graduating early," Thomas said, "getting my body physically and mentally prepared to win a state championship. We lost the state title game on last year so we are on a revenge tour. We have a traveling schedule that includes Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco, so I'm excited about that."
He's also looking to decompress a bit in the aftermath of cutting down from 42 offers to one as he works toward a strong senior year.
"Being committed is great," Thomas said, "it allows me to just enjoy the rest of my summer and senior year. You have to go through it to really understand but it’s a blessing to be recruited as highly as I was. There’s kids all over the country fighting for one offer so I don't take my opportunities for granted."
