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Recruiting rankings aren't the entire story for high school football players. To get a better feel for the entire picture, Len Fuller will be watching film of Fighting Illini football's recruiting targets and verbal commitments. Today he'll be providing a quick scouting report of Illinois commit Cameron Thomas.
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Grading Scale
9.5 - 10.0 = Five-Star
8.0 - 9.0 = Four-Star
7.0 - 7.5 = High Three-Star
6.0 - 6.5 = Middle Three-Star
5.0 - 5.5 = Low Three-Star
Under 5.0 = Two-Star
QB Cameron Thomas (IL) | 6'3, 185 lbs.
Offer List: Illinois
Dual-threat prospect Cameron Thomas is the future quarterback for Lovie Smith and the Fighting Illini. Thomas is ranked as a three-star recruit by Scout, and the 247Sports composite rankings have him slotted as the No. 1089 player in the class-of-2017. Although Illinois was his only scholarship offer, he was receiving more interest from Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue, Wake Forest, and Syracuse.
HUDL Highlights
Scouting Report
I'd like to see Thomas hit campus at somewhere between 200-215 pounds next year; he has a very good frame for the position, but he just needs to fill out a bit more. Right now, Thomas' ability to the run the ball is his biggest asset (his 40-yard dash time is 4.5 seconds). He has great speed and quickness to go with very good burst, strength, and power. Thomas has the ability to run himself out of trouble, but he shouldn't rely on that in college when the speed of the game will be substantially different.
Thomas currently has a slightly better than good arm. He's currently a good decision maker, but he'll need to improve a bit more in that department by the time he reaches the field at Illinois; that shouldn't be an issue with more reps and coaching.
Overall, Thomas has very good upside. I think it was a smart decision by Lovie Smith to lock up his future quarterback this early because other schools were on the verge of offering.