Zidane Thomas Chooses Boise State

Boise State has had an extremely productive week with building their recruiting class. After Scale Igiehon broke his silence and announced his commitment publicly, Kukea Emmsley followed suit and verbally joined the Bronco’s ranks Wednesday evening. That same night, Zidane Thomas contacted Mountain West Connection to inform them of his intention to commit to Boise State today. Before that announcement even happened, DL recruit Keegan Freeborn joined the commitment party. Then, a few days later, Thomas made his intention public and became the latest “big get” for Boise State.

The three-star running back out of Centennial High School in Peoria, AZ did just that, announcing his commitment on his Twitter account. This comes barely a week after his visited Boise State, which he immensely enjoyed.

“The visit was great. I met a lot of the coaches and got to take pictures with Coach Harsin, trying on their uniforms and all of that. I was a really big fan of the blue field.”

While many recruits cite the famous blue turf and uniform combinations as highlights of their visit, for Thomas, it was the success of the program and coaching staff that really sealed the deal for him.

“What stood out to me the most was the running back room. They have the walls decorated with Doug Martin and Jay Ajayi! Those are NFL running backs who are similar to me in size. Also Coach Marks told me they like my style as a running back and if I work hard and get at it, I could have the chance to be in the rotation as a freshman.”

Thomas is listed at 5’10 and weighs 205. He cites his style as “a physical back who likes to run between the tackles, but is also able to go to the outside zones.” He possesses the talent and the mindset to potentially be one of the next productive running backs at Boise State, a school quickly becoming known for NFL quality ball carriers.

From watching his tape, Zidane displays quickness, power, elusiveness, and a quick cut to change directions and break away from defenders. He displays the ability to find his running lanes and powers through the holes, reaching top speed quickly.

Thomas is the 9th overall verbal pledge for the Broncos, the second running back, and the first in this class from the state of Arizona. This is significant because Boise State had built a consistent pipeline from the state during the time of former coach Scott Huff. That the Broncos and new coach Brad Bedell are able to continue recruiting talent from the state is a major benefit for them both now and going forward.