Thomas Back from Illini Visit

(This article originally appeared on www.orangeandbluenews.com.)

A Washington DC area prospect who committed to Illinois last fall visited Champaign this weekend, and found the trip even better than he'd hoped.

Ian Thomas, a 6-foot, 206-pound weakside linebacker from DeMatha Catholic HS (Md.) pledged his services to offensive coorindator Mike Locksley and the Illini last fall before ever visiting Illinois, and returned home Sunday even more excited about his future in Champaign.

"It was the greatest thing," said Thomas Sunday night. "I met the coaches, met the players, saw the campus. I just can't wait to get down there."

Thomas said he was excited by the entire weekend, but reserved his highest words of praise for Ron Zook's coaching staff.

"I met every single coach, offense and defense," Thomas said. "You can't get a better staff than they have at Illinois. They take care of business on and off the field, but they also let you have a good time. I just can't wait to get down there and have them coach me up."

While Thomas was the only recruit visiting, he said he already shares a familiarity and bond with several of the DC-area preps that Zook has signed, and that he got special advice on his recruitment from one of them.

"Derek McPhearson, who went to my school, he told me Illinois was the best visit he took," Thomas said. "And he went to Florida, a lot of places, all the top schools. If Illinois was the best for him, I figured it would be pretty good for me."

Just a day after setting foot on the Illinois campus, Thomas already has big plans for his future in the orange and blue.

"They definitely want me to come in and start on special teams, and I'm going to get a chance to contribute at linebacker. I definitely don't expect to redshirt, I expect to play next year."

As far as how the jump from Dematha to the Big Ten would compare to what his DC buddies had told him, Thomas said that on the visit, he saw with his own eyes that Illinois' physical conditioning program is "no joke man, seriously, it's no joke." He did, however, assure Illini fans that its "nothing he can't handle," and that he'll arrive next fall ready to make an impact immediately.