Coveted LCMR junior enjoying the recruiting process

Posted: August 22nd 2023

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Braswell Thomas has enjoyed the process of becoming one of the most highly recruited high school football players in Cape May County history.

The Lower Cape May Regional junior likes it so much that he even has good words to say about his running coach who had him awake in the wee hours of the morning for workouts, Thomas joining former Lower Cape May track and cross country coach Rich Demers on the beach in Cape May for speed work at 5 a.m. four days per week this summer.

“Mr. Demers is a pretty good coach and he’s a really nice guy,” Thomas said, before pausing and then adding with a chuckle, “even if he gets me up really, really early.”

It’s been a whirlwind last eight months or so for Thomas, a 6-2, 185-pound wide receiver and defensive back. He oozes so much athleticism and potential that a number of colleges, including defending national champion Georgia, have offered him scholarships. Others in the mix include Rutgers, Penn State, Tennessee, Maryland, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, UConn and Syracuse. The first offer, from Rutgers, came in January. The others quickly followed. There is sure to be more coming.

Thomas has already visited a number of those schools, whose campuses and facilities, not surprisingly, dwarf that of Lower Cape May. He’s even taken part in a few workouts during those visits.

“It’s been a pretty nice experience but it’s nothing that will throw me off my focus on my team here at Lower,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely been a good experience but I just want to keep it simple and focus on the big picture both in the classroom and on the field.

“Obviously, it’s been very different. I’ve been going to some of those schools and competing. It’s been different going up against a bunch of four- and five-star (prospects) but I’ve liked doing it because it’s going to get me ready for the season. It’s been a real cool experience to see what each school has to offer.

“Each school is different. At the end of the day, it’s about the relationships with the coaches and the other people that are going to be around you that’s very important.”

While some of the schools recruiting Thomas have interest in him as a receiver, most like him more as a defensive back/safety.

“I have no problem at all playing defense in college,” Thomas said. “I tell the coaches I’ll play whatever is best in their minds. It doesn’t matter to me where I play.”

Thomas caught 35 passes for 506 yards and four touchdowns while also contributing more than 30 tackles, three interceptions and five passes defensed for Lower Cape May last fall, helping the Tigers to a 7-3 record.

Lower Cape May coach Lance Bailey sees Thomas as a player who has vastly improved since arriving in the program as a freshman. His time in the 40-yard dash has dropped to 4.57 seconds – a good number for a player his size who doesn’t turn 17 until next month.

“I’m not surprised at his improvement,” Bailey said. “We worked him out back when he was a sixth-grader and we knew back then he had a chance to be very good. … We knew the physical attributes and the skill. The question was, was he going to perfect his craft and work on it, and to this point he’s checked all those boxes.

“What’s impressed me the most is how far he’s come and grown as a human being dealing with all this recruiting and the pressures that go along with it. The qualities he possesses in terms of politeness and respect and the way he interacts with people, it’s amazing to see.

“His overall route running on the offensive side of the ball is so much better now than it was even a year ago. His play away from the ball is so much better. If we have a run to the opposite side of the field he knows he still has a job to do and he does it. There are no taking plays off.”

There’s no taking days off, either.

“He’s constantly getting his work in,” Bailey said. “He wants to get good and he wants to keep improving. There are times when we want him to take a day off. But now that he’s gotten offers coming in, he’s not going to rest on that. He’s constantly trying to improve himself.”

With Thomas and a number of other starters returning, the Tigers are expected to compete for a West Jersey Football League division title and a Group II playoff berth.

“I definitely think we can compete for the division title and compete beyond our division,” Thomas said. “If we put the pedal to the metal and really focus, we can be a really, really good team. But we have to focus on the field and in the film room and in the weight room.”

Bailey said Thomas will shift from cornerback to safety on defense this fall.

“He’s being recruited by a lot of these schools as a strong safety so that’s part of it, but we also want him more involved in the run game and stuff like that, too,” Bailey said.

Thomas is quick to point out he hasn’t gotten this far alone.

“I have so much thankfulness for my coaches and the people surrounding me,” he said. “They’ve helped put me in this position to strive to do my best both in the classroom and outside the classroom. They’re leading me step by step and training me step by step and motivating me to work hard every day. I’ve had a lot of people help me to where I am today and I appreciate all of them.”

Even the one who had him awake before 5 a.m. on many days this summer.