FRISCO, Texas — Kardell Thomas is not fooling around.
Thomas, an LSU commit from Southern Lab (Baton Rouge, La.) is 6-4 and 356 pounds and considered the top offensive guard in the 2019 class, but that’s a mythical title you have to defend at every big camp, including Nike’s The Opening.
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During one-on-one competitions Sunday at The Opening, Thomas put one meaty hand in the face of a hapless defensive lineman and when the lineman responded, Thomas got into his boxing stance and got off a two-handed shove before coaches and players separated the two.
He may have to work on his boxing stance, but his offensive line stance is coming along nicely.
“When I get mad, I don’t want people to even think they can beat me,” Thomas said. “The main thing about these guys is they’re very good, so you have to make sure every of point that you’re doing. If you lean too much, you might get snatched. You have to be very technical and very physical.”
Though he committed to LSU in the July before his sophomore year, he said he plans to make all five official visits before signing, something that might have Tigers fans sweating. He recently had an unofficial visit to Miami and plans an official there as well.
“I plan on making all five,” he said. “USC, Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami and LSU. I’m going to take the first one in July and the the rest of them will be the first part of my season, the first four or five games. I’m solid at LSU, but something could happen, I’m not going to lie. The difference will be being treated well. If they want me, they want me.”
Last year, Southern Lab finished 5-5, but the Kittens won back-to-back Divsion IV titles (they later had to vacate them for recruiting violations) during Thomas’ freshman and sophomore years. Because of sanctions, the Kittens are ineligible this year for the the state playoffs, but that doesn’t mean Thomas can’t collect a few individual trophies.
“Not tooting my horn, but I’m a five-star and there are a lot of guys here who are five stars,” he said. “I want to get the MVP out of everybody.”