Strong first impression has Miami among 4-star OL Solomon Thomas' top schools
After paying a visit to see Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines four-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas during the spring, the Miami Hurricanes, and their offensive line coach Alex Mirabal have remained on his mind ever since.
The rising sophomore, who is the No. 32 overall prospect in the 2025 class, believes the Hurricanes are in his ‘top 5′, and a big reason for that is Mirabal.
“I know he’s going to push his big guys to be great,” Thomas told CaneSport. “He looks like he’ll get down and push that sled with you, so that’s the kind of energy he gives off.”
While Mirabal’s role in Thomas’ recruitment early on has been crucial, the 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman adds that seeing Miami attract top guys that play his positions during the 2023 recruiting cycle, such as Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola, is something that may attract him to the program a bit more.
“They got some good guys from that 2023 class, which is not surprising,” Thomas said. “It sets up the exception for myself and the guys in this class that are filling in those shoes. Having those guys that would be mentors to me would be big. I watched those guys at All-American camps, and I’ve studied their game to make my game greater.”
Along with Miami, programs such as Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and South Carolina caught his attention early on.
“The most important thing to me will probably be the realness of the school and the relationship that I have with the coaches and the players,” Thomas told On3. “Of course, I am looking for that family feel and that continuous dawg mentality regardless of what you’re doing, that competitiveness because I know a lot of schools when they recruit, they might have a great program now. But by the time I get up to signing day and finally get into the actual school, it’s not as dominant as it used to be.
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“Coaches may leave, players may leave who made that program truly what it is and I don’t want to go to a program where players make the program. Players come and go, but the culture of the school and how they coach as a program, how they carry themselves as a program, that’s what sticks out.”
While he hasn’t been to Coral Gables just yet, Miami is a program he is hoping to get out to see soon as he begins to focus on a select few schools as he moves forward in his recruiting process.
“I just want to see how the coaches are,” Thomas said. “I want to see how the offensive line coach reacts with his assistants and how the head coach reacts to the assistants.”
“I have two coaches that went to Miami, and then, some of their kids and some athletes from Raines have committed to Miami,” Thomas added. “… Keeping that pressure on me with Miami, of course telling me they love you and they want you over there and they want to see you in action, that’s a big thing for my position coach.”
CaneSport’s take
Mirabal and the Hurricanes’ great first impression has Thomas interested in the program, but what they do next will be just as essential if they want to establish themselves as a serious contender to land the four-star recruit.
