The kid is hot. No two ways about it. He is big enough sure. But not massive. He is not blowing coaches away with his size at this point but boy things have really heated up for this Thomas Toki of Juanita High School! The 2015 Defensive Tackle nose had already landed UCLA and WSU right out of the gate and today he grabbed up two more Pac 12 offers.
Thomas is in the middle left flanked with the massive Fehoko Brothers.
“Oregon State and ASU both offered me today. They came by to see my transcripts and talk to the Coaches here and let me know I had these offers,” he said. “Things have really heated up since you ran those stories and posted my film. That really helped I think.”
We told the story like we saw it. A hardworking kid with the desire and the drive with great film. Not amazing film but great for a Sophomore. What Coaches are seeing is quick nimble feet and incredible balance matched with size and power to boot. At 6’1″ and 290 Thomas is average. But there is nothing average about what he is capable of.
“I just got back from the Oakland Nike NFTC Camp and that went great. The talent there was amazing. I guess I was a finalist for the D-Line MVP but they gave it to an upper class-men which is great. It was good to go see some family and battle it out.”
The 4 Pac 12 offers have him as one of the hottest 2015 linemen in this part of the country and a guy with a lot of schools checking in.
“UW seems interested and a lot of schools are coming here now. There is just a whole lot happening. And while that is going on my grades are getting better and that is a blessing,” Thomas added.
That grades thing is just so important. So many kids spend too much time chasing a scholarship and not enough time earning one in the classroom. Knowing he had some challenges he is buckling down. And he got some input from our friend Coach Eric Jackson who has retired from the Division 1 but who has taken his passion for helping kids in the academic sector and built upon that. He is mentoring Thomas a bit on the grades front and has according to Thomas been terrific. You can find Eric at his website here.
Thomas says he is reeling just thinking about playing for any of these Pac 12 schools and is planning to try and visit them all as his future comes along. All of them offer a different climate and academic choice and he knows he wants to take his time.
Great news for a great kid. We will not be surprised at all when he calls us again and we will keep sharing the news with all of you and our Collegiate readership too! Way to go to Thomas, OSU, and ASU! Well done.
