Athlete Braswell Thomas becomes the latest commitment in Penn State's Class of 2025
Penn State continued its recent run on the recruiting trail with another Class of 2025 commitment, this time locking up New Jersey native Braswell Thomas Sunday morning.
Back on June 2, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound athlete proved to head coach James Franklin and his staff that he’s made some impressive strides in not only his testing numbers but also as a safety, which is where Penn State believes he’ll fit best at the next level.
In addition to running a 4.5-second 40-yard dash, Thomas cleared 30 feet in the triple broad jump and went sub-4.4 seconds in the shuttle. For a player with his size and strength, it ended up being a game changer when it comes to the way Penn State’s staff looked at his overall potential.
“They wanted to see how much I improved from last year with everything,” Thomas said. “Their coaches were looking at my speed, how I did in DB drills, agility drills, everything. They explained how they were extremely pumped to see major improvement from last year. They were very excited I went out to the camp and got after it and earned the official visit.”
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That official visit took place this past weekend. The Nittany Lions paired Thomas with January enrollee and fellow New Jersey safety Vaboue Toure. Between his meetings with the coaching staff and spending time with the current players, Thomas knew that Penn State was where he wanted to be.
Throughout his recruitment, Thomas earned more than a dozen scholarship offers. The Nittany Lions originally extended an offer in March 2023 while Thomas was on campus to watch spring practice. He then returned for the Blue-White Game in April of that year before camping and attending a few games last season.
He took visits to eight additional schools, although Penn State hosted him nearly twice as many times as any other school. Rutgers hosted him four times, with West Virginia earning three visits. His trip to Morgantown back on June 7 was the only other official visit that Thomas took this month.
Thomas currently holds a three-star rating in the On3 Industry Rankings. He’s No. 725 nationally and No. 25 overall in New Jersey. However, with updated testing numbers and ratings set to be reevaluated a few times between now and the December signing period, don’t be surprised if Thomas finishes higher than he currently ranks.
Penn State is now up to 17 commitments in its Class of 2025. The Nittany Lions added four-star running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman Saturday evening.
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