LSU makes a major impression on Florida State 5-star commit Solomon Thomas

Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas was one of Florida State’s earliest commitments in the 2025 class, coming off the board in December 2023.

Landing him was a major coup for Mike Norvell, Alex Atkins and the ‘Noles staff. But as it always is in high-profile recruitments, holding on as other teams take their swings is what it ultimately comes down to.

Florida and LSU are doing exactly that, with the Tigers hosting him for an official visit last weekend. And the Gators will have him on campus this weekend before he heads to Tallahassee on June 21. Brian Kelly and his staff have made Thomas one of their top offensive line priorities this cycle, and according to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, the visit couldn’t have gone better.

“Look, Solomon Thomas was gushing yesterday about his visit,” Wiltfong said Monday. “He talked about Coach Brad Davis and just the standard that he holds his offensive linemen to. He hasn’t seen that anywhere else in his perspective; he talked about Will Campbell and Emery Jones, the two bookend tackles that are going to hear their names called in the NFL Draft. And he talked about how it’s Joe Moore Award or nothing for LSU’s offensive line. He also talked about the leadership position those guys are in on football team, really impressed him.

… I woke up to him sending me a bunch of photos from his photoshoot at LSU, too. We talked yesterday and then he followed back up with some more LSU stuff today. They crushed it with him.”

Thomas talks about what stands out about LSU

LSU gave Thomas a lot to think about. They’ll likely have early opportunities at playing time and also have the development of guys like Campbell and Jones to back up their words.

“They’re different,” Thomas told Wiltfong. “Their different. I can say that. Coach (Brad) Davis and the expectations that he has for his offensive line is different. The players that he has our different. Of course they have Coach Davis but kudos to Will (Campbell) and Emery (Jones). Emery is a dog. And so is Will. Emery is a freaking dog and he can lead a team. They came up as freshman and they led. I don’t know how they were before but they set the expectation very high and I loved it.”

Pulling him away from FSU — and especially Atkins — won’t be an easy feat for any program.

“He’s a great coach,” Thomas told Warchant earlier this month. “He can see not only the box, but he can see the whole field. You know, that’s why he gets paid so much. But then at the same time, you know, building relationships. … Once you become one of his players, he truly adopts you as one of his own. Beyond, you know, the football aspect. Football can be sometimes perceived as a transaction, especially with NIL, you know: ‘I’m going to give you this amount of money, you just do your job.’ It’s not like that.

“With him … it’s more of a fatherly relationship than a co-worker kind of thing.”