Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 5 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State head coach James Frank- lin and his staff picked up an unex- pected commitment just one day after the start of the early signing period, adding Pittsburgh Central Catholic cor- nerback Xxavier Thomas on Dec. 21. An unrated prospect in the 2025 re- cruiting class, Thomas traveled to State College multiple times in the year lead- ing up to his announcement. He was in Beaver Stadium for three of Penn State's marquee games this past season, attending the matchups against West Virginia and Iowa in September and the game against Michigan in November. Prior to those visits, Thomas checked out Penn State in June, taking part in the staff's White Out Camp. Thomas hasn't said much publicly about his recruitment. Aside from Penn State, he's mentioned only two offers — one from Akron, which he received in January 2022, and one from Yale, the school that older brother Rodney Thomas attended. Thomas is part of an athletic family. Coming out of Yale, Rodney Thomas was a seventh-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 and was a regular contributor for the team this past season, finishing with 34 tackles and 2 interceptions. As for Xxavier, he started for Central Catholic as a freshman in 2021, totaling 40 tackles and 4 interceptions. He saw action in 12 games as a junior last fall, finishing with 22 tackles and 4 picks. Listed at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, he's expected to play a similar role to the one that Daequan Hardy occupied for the Nittany Lions the past three seasons. Hardy was Penn State's primary nickel back and also returned punts last fall in his final season at PSU. With his announcement in Decem- ber, Thomas became the third player from Central Catholic to commit to Penn State since the start of the 2024 recruiting cycle. In December, the day before Thomas joined the Lions' 2025 class, the Nittany Lions received letters of intent from two of his high school teammates, three-star linebacker An- thony Speca and three-star wide re- ceiver Peter Gonzalez. Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith re- cruits the Pittsburgh area for Penn State and understands the importance of hav- ing a connection to one of the region's most successful high school programs, a team that last season went 10-2 under first-year head coach Ryan Lehmeier. "It's a school that we have to recruit; they're loaded," Smith said. "They have a lot of young talent, and we're going to keep tapping into that talent. They have a new coach who's doing a great job there. We've just got to keep recruiting Central Catholic guys. They're smart, they're patient, and they know what they want." In addition to football, Thomas also excelled on the track last spring, win- ning the WPIAL Class AAA triple jump championship with a leap of 45 feet, 11 inches. It was a personal best. He went on to finish 12th at the PIAA Class AAA state championships. With his commitment, Thomas be- came the seventh player to announce for Penn State in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the second defensive back, join- ing four-star New Jersey safety Omari Gaines. ■ Pittsburgh Cornerback Is Surprise Addition To 2025 Class RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M Thomas totaled 22 tackles and 4 interceptions for Central Catholic as a junior last season. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER COMMITMENT PROFILE XXAVIER THOMAS Pittsburgh Central Catholic cornerback Xxavier Thomas is unranked right now, but there should be significant excitement and optimism about his potential with the Nit- tany Lions. The cornerback position is all about speed and athletic ability. While we don't have any hard numbers on Thomas, he looks fast on film. Another context clue is that he's an outstanding kick returner for Central Catholic and did that job on a team loaded with ath- letes. Most excitingly, Thomas has great feet and transition skills in coverage. He's an easy mover around the field and glides between cuts following receivers. With these skills, he has the potential to be a dual slot and outside cornerback at Penn State. While Thomas isn't the biggest player at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, he's got exceptional ball skills for a high school cornerback. He shows a knack for turning his head and pre- dicting when the ball is coming, and he's been able to parlay those abilities into pass breakups. Speed and ball skills — that's a killer combination for a cornerback. — Thomas Frank Carr P L A Y E R E V A L U A T I O N