Fact or Fiction: Five-star Solomon Thomas may flip to Florida
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national recruiting analyst John Garcia, Jr., along with Patrick Burnham from TheOsceola.com and Jason Higdon of 1standTenFlorida.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Florida State should be really concerned that five-star OL Solomon Thomas will flip to Florida.
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Gorney’s take: FACT. I’m not sure Solomon Thomas ends up flipping but certainly Florida State should be concerned about some factors. The Gators play in the SEC, they brought in Jonathan DeCoster, who has NFL experience to work with the offense and his family will be about an hour closer to him if he ends up in Gainesville. Florida State is not a world away but those are some of the considerations going into this decision although if coach Mike Norvell and offensive line coach Alex Atkins stay with the Seminoles as expected, it could be a tougher pull than some think.
Higdon’s take: FACT. The real question should be, why wouldn't Florida State be worried he will flip to Florida? Thomas will officially visit coach Billy Napier and the Gators on June 7. Two weeks later, on June 21, he is scheduled to visit Florida State officially. Will Thomas make it to the FSU visit? I have a hard time believing he will flip before allowing the Seminoles to have the last chance to impress him and his family. Either way, there is a "real" chance Thomas flips from Florida State to Florida — his actions and visits to Florida tell us all we need to know. The best scenario for Florida State is to have concerns about Thomas flipping and hope it doesn't happen.
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2. Florida State should be really concerned that four-star QB Tramell Jones will flip to Florida.
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Gorney’s take: FICTION. If Jones is convinced that DJ Lagway is the future at Florida for the next three years then I find it very hard to believe that the four-star quarterback would wait behind him all that time especially when the Florida State quarterback situation is more uncertain in the coming years.
There could be intrigue in Gainesville especially if some teammates or 7-on-7 friends end up with the Gators - which isn’t certain at this point - but I just don’t see this happening. If for some reason, Tramell Jones thinks he can beat out Lagway or that the five-star freshman struggles this season and Jones sees an opening, maybe this is possible but I just wouldn’t predict a flip at this point.
Burnham’s take: FICTION. There will always be concern when you have a QB committed to your program that has taken multiple visits to your biggest in-state rival. However, at this point I would not say there is a reason for a high-level of concern or to be really concerned. And there are multiple reasons for this.
One, Florida seems to be pinning its hopes for the near future on DJ Lagway, while Florida State’s long-term future after the 2024 season is less certain with Brock Glenn or Luke Kromenhoek set to be the heir apparent at quarterback. So, Jones has the best chance of getting on the field early in his career at Florida State.
Two, I recently asked someone who is very familiar with Jones' recruitment how concerned he would be about him flipping to the Gators on a scale of 1 to 10, one being no concern and 10 being a flip is imminent, and he said his level of concern was a three.
Three, I have also spoken with another source who has indicated that one of the reasons Florida has interest in Jones is that he is high school teammates with Jaime Ffrench and Hylton Stubbs and 7-on-7 teammates with Ffrench and Vernell Brown as well as being close to some other prospects on the Gators' radar. Some of those prospects may want to attend the same school together and that could factor into Florida ultimately trying to flip and sign Jones.
Additionally, Florida has two quarterbacks scheduled to make official visits this summer and Jones is not one of them. Florida State has also been extremely loyal to Jones and while they may be talking to other quarterbacks, either because they have concerns about his commitment or because they have someone on the hook who is just as good a prospect or better than Jones, they have been very low-profile in how they have handled those prospects.
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3. After seeing Bryce Underwood at OT7 Orlando, he could take over the No. 1 spot in the 2025 Rivals250.
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Gorney’s take: FACT. There have been recruiting cycles where we were pretty clear on how we wanted five-star quarterbacks to be ordered: We gave the edge to Trevor Lawrence over Justin Fields. We liked Bryce Young over DJ Uiagalelei. Last recruiting cycle was close between Dylan Raiola and Julian Sayin. This cycle is now very close as Julian Lewis has been exceptional for years and has the polish of a future high first-round draft pick. Bryce Underwood is not nearly as refined but he has such incredible physical gifts that he cannot be discounted for that No. 1 overall spot. Is Underwood a thicker Jayden Daniels with the athleticism of Anthony Richardson? Maybe. And that deserves No. 1 consideration.
Garcia’s take: FICTION. While tempting, as Underwood delivered one of the top offseason performances at any position this spring, the jury should still be out on that all-important battle. Underwood's case is obvious, he's 6-foot-4, 200-plus pounds and has the natural arm talent to get it anywhere on the field at just about any time. He impressed with his maturity and ability to get to the second and third reads while at OT7, too, minimizing any projected 'holes' in his game along the way. Still, that measure is Lewis' best trait. He remains even more efficient and unflappable in the pocket at an even younger age. The USC commitment's most questionable attribute has also become minimized, as Lewis' size is brought up less and less. Last month, before rolling towards Quarterback MVP honors at the Rivals Camp Series in Atlanta, the rising-senior checked in at over 6-foot and nearly 190 pounds. Each five-star quarterback has plenty to stand on and each has answered long-looming questions, so let the splitting of hairs continue between two of the best in the country.
