Unsigned prospects look to impress college coaches
Last year around this time, standout Flanagan receiver Caleb Thomas didn’t know what he was going to do after graduation while he watched several other football seniors — both Falcons teammates and all across South Florida — sign with college programs to accept scholarships.
After National Signing Day came and went, he kept receiving signs, whether seeing it on social media or hearing someone talk about it, that he should attend the Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase, then an inaugural event.
Thomas participated, and drawing the attention of many of the college coaches there to scout, he ended up signing with NAIA Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, and having a record-breaking season as a freshman.
Thomas was one of the 61 academically qualified student athletes who earned more than a cumulative $1 million in scholarships to study and play football at Division II, III and NAIA schools last season. On Saturday morning, members of the 2018 class who are yet to sign will look to become that next success story to come through the showcase as the event returns for its second year at Nova Southeastern University.
“The advice I’d give [unsigned prospects] is you’ve got to stay focused. You see everybody else. That’s their life, but that’s not your life,” Thomas said. “Some people catch [their opportunity] late; some people catch it early. You just got to wait your time, and it’s going to come.”
Each prospect will participate in a series of tests and drills in front of college coaches. Last year, 49 colleges were represented. Among them was Graceland’s wide receivers coach Nate Robinson, who discovered Thomas at the event.
“The one thing you cannot deny is how dynamic of an athlete he is,” Robinson said. “His athleticism, how dynamic he was, whether he was catching the ball, moving with the ball, whatever the drill, that stood out.”
Thomas now holds the NAIA record for catches in a season (158) and went for 1,235 yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman.
“Everybody is looking for the stars, everybody looking for the biggest person, so those will usually be the ones who go out, but it’s not always about that,” Thomas said. “Sometimes you got to really look beneath the surface to really see the diamonds in the dirt. You got to really look into the dirt, and you’ll see that there’s way more diamonds than just the shiny rocks that you see.”
Among players on the Sun Sentinel Broward and Palm Beach top 75 megaboard, Hollywood Hills receiver Alexander Shelton, South Broward defensive lineman Davon Strickland and Boyd Anderson athlete Avery Thornton remain unsigned among a number of under-the-radar prospects that could turn out like Thomas on Saturday.
dfurones@sunsentinel.com or Twitter @DavidFurones_