Matthew Thomas

2014: Versatile, big-bodied linebacker who played in eight games and made starts against Louisville, Georgia Tech and Oregon...tallied 26 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss on the season…made his season debut against Notre Dame with a career-high six stops...made four tackles, including a TFL, at Louisville in his first career start…of his four stops against Boston College, 1.5 were for a loss…credited with five tackles in the ACC Championship Game against the Yellow Jackets...totaled four tackles versus the Ducks in the Rose Bowl.

2013: Highly-touted freshman linebacker appeared in four games as a reserve before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery...received a medical redshirt...totaled four tackles, including 2.0 TFLs and one sack in 2013...had three tackles, 2.0 TFLs and sack versus Bethune-Cookman.

PERSONAL: Was one of the most sought after prospects in the entire nation in 2013...a consensus five-star recruit who was also a consensus top 15 national prospect...ESPN had Thomas No. 6 in the ESPN150, he was 14th in the Top247 and 15th in the Rivals 100...US Army All-American...invited to “The Opening” on the Nike campus and Gridiron Kings...rated the fourth-best player in Florida by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals...ESPN had Thomas listed as the No. 1 OLB prospect in the nation that year, Scout and Rivals listed him at No. 2 and 247Sports had him at No. 3...registered 102 tackles and 13 sacks in 2011...numbers dropped to 53 tackles and seven sacks during the regular season as a senior as his Booker T. Washington beat opponents by an average of nearly 42 points and starters played less throughout the regular season...won a state championship playing both LB and DE as Booker T. Washington defeated Bolles and Thomas registered nine solo tackles...named first team All-Dade...ESPN clocked him at 4.59 in the 40 with a 35.6-inch vertical and a SPARQ rating of 114.36...Thomas’ mother is a native of the Republic of Suriname, a small South American country bordered on its north side by the Atlantic Ocean...chose FSU over Miami, Alabama, USC, Georgia, Florida and more than 20 other offers...born July 21, 1995...exploratory major.