AN EXCERPT:
J.T. Sr., a West Virginia linebacker from 1994 through 1995, was in and out of his son's life early on, having split up with Thomas' mother, Andrea, and moving back to Morgantown to finish school. But he would bring Thomas up in the summer to continue his football education, attending Mountaineers youth football camps. Perhaps unbeknownst to Thomas, this was J.T. Sr.'s way of planting the seed in his son about West Virginia's football program.
"[My dad] brought me up in summers, and I had an opportunity to compete in the camp that they had for the 8th graders," Thomas said. "I ended up playing with the older kids and having an excellent camp. The coach, at the camp at the time, was Jeff Casteel [then WVU's defensive line coach], and he told me he'd come back. And sure enough, the first day of recruiting, West Virginia was the first school to offer me a scholarship, and I was on board ever since."
"[Thomas] will say he kind of made the choice, and he did," J.T. Sr. said. "What I kind of did is make sure he kept coming to West Virginia camps in the summer. I had always hoped that he would come here."
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2015/06/how_giants_linebacker_jt_thomas_got_his_football_e.html
J.T. Sr., a West Virginia linebacker from 1994 through 1995, was in and out of his son's life early on, having split up with Thomas' mother, Andrea, and moving back to Morgantown to finish school. But he would bring Thomas up in the summer to continue his football education, attending Mountaineers youth football camps. Perhaps unbeknownst to Thomas, this was J.T. Sr.'s way of planting the seed in his son about West Virginia's football program.
"[My dad] brought me up in summers, and I had an opportunity to compete in the camp that they had for the 8th graders," Thomas said. "I ended up playing with the older kids and having an excellent camp. The coach, at the camp at the time, was Jeff Casteel [then WVU's defensive line coach], and he told me he'd come back. And sure enough, the first day of recruiting, West Virginia was the first school to offer me a scholarship, and I was on board ever since."
"[Thomas] will say he kind of made the choice, and he did," J.T. Sr. said. "What I kind of did is make sure he kept coming to West Virginia camps in the summer. I had always hoped that he would come here."
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2015/06/how_giants_linebacker_jt_thomas_got_his_football_e.html
