Donovan Thomas
Athlete, Class of 2020
Oakleaf High School, Orange Park, FL
6-2, 180

It can be tough to sometimes place a player in a specific position. Height and weight no longer are clear indicators. With a number of hybrid positions, and players who have proven there’s not one certain mold for a position, it’s more a case-by-case basis.

Oakleaf (Fla.) three-star Donovan Thomas knows this scenario well. Even with 12 offers, he’s been pegged for at least four different roles: safety, cornerback, linebacker and nickel. Thomas concedes he does feel more comfortable at one or two than the others. but as he nears the time to trim his list, he’s also taking in plenty of other factors. Still, position does have a bearing on how Thomas said he sees his options.

“With my film last year, Virginia Tech likes me at safety and corner, and Kentucky thinks I might be a linebacker in college, because I might grow more,” he said. “I know LSU, when I went to camp last summer, I was playing corner, safety and linebacker. I feel more comfortable at safety and linebacker over corner. With linebacker, I played that in junior high. At cornerback, I’m not in the play to make tackles and not making a lot of contact. I was bored in most of my games last year, because they weren’t throwing to my side much.”

...