AURORA | Overland linebacker Tre Thomas seemed to be in on every play during his senior season.
Colorado State hopes the same applies to Thomas’ college football career, as the Fort Collins program received the hard-hitting 6-foot-3, 200-pounder’s verbal commitment on Sunday.
Thomas — an All-Colorado selection after he racked up a Colorado-best 219 tackles (189 of them solo) — returned from an official visit to San Jose State over the weekend and gave his pledge to Colorado State. He canceled a scheduled trip to Wyoming also passed up offers from Texas-El Paso, New Mexico State and Northern Colorado in selecting coach Jim McElwain’s Rams.
“This last year, Tre had the most dominating season anybody around here has had; I’ve never coached a kid like him before,” Overland coach Seth Replogle said of Thomas, his first Division I prospect in his second season with the program since coming from The Academy.
“He had 180-some solo tackles, so he was everywhere and he got to the ball violently,” Replogle added. “He just made a lot of plays and he was a phenomenal leader. He loved to practice and just worked his butt off. He was a true captain in every sense of the word, so we’re going to miss him a lot. CSU is very lucky to have him.”
Thomas joins Cherokee Trail safety Evan White (Colorado) among Aurora’s D-I commitments thus far.
Colorado State’s football roster currently includes two players from Aurora schools in Gateway graduate Zack Golditch and Marty St. John of Smoky Hill.
A.J. Roper, Andrew Tillman and Dominican Waynewood are among a few other Overland seniors likely to commit prior to signing day.
Overland junior quarterback Austin Conway holds scholarship offers from Colorado, Colorado State and Nebraska thus far, with several other program telling Replogle of their intent to eventually extend an offer to the athletic signalcaller.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel