Last season, the Miami Hurricanes only had one consensus five-star prospect on their roster, and he just so happened to be from their backyard. Being an Under Armour All-American, he was swayed by every school in the country but his reason for choosing Miami may be a bit different than the average recruit.
Chad Thomas is from Liberty City, home to one of Miami’s most poverty stricken areas, where football is seen as one of the only ways to get out of the city. Thomas doesn’t fit in that box, in fact he has torn down whatever box anyone has tried to categorize him in.
MajorNine the Music Mogul
Going back to the hometown of Chad Thomas, Liberty City is the birthplace of many NFL standouts such as Antonio Brown, Devonta Freeman, Teddy Bridgewater, T.Y. Hilton, Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson, and Artie Burns. A city with that much pedigree would surely influence any young child, but Thomas was more influenced from the music roots of the city with artists such as Uncle Luke, Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross and DJ Uncle Al. While being recruited, he made it clear to coaches that music, not football, was his first love and that it would play a factor in his decision.
Now the odds of being an NFL player are already pretty low, add the task of trying to become a pillar in the music industry and one would definitely advise against it. Thomas is far from your average person, he has been composing songs on his keyboard since the age of seven. He plays multiple instruments, received scholarships for his music merits as well as football and produces music on top of that. His production in music may earn him his first million before he even signs an NFL contract.
As of date, Chad Thomas has produced songs for Miami artist Ball Greezy, one of which “Nice & Slow” (warning: song includes explicit lyrics) has over 1.3 million YouTube views in just over three months. His biggest production was for Rick Ross on his new album, Rather You Than Me, on a track entitled Apple Of My Eye. Below, the rapper talks about the process of how Chad’s beat was selected and his potential as far as producing.
I just act on it.
Either talk about it or be about it. 🤷🏾♂️ #DadeCounty pic.twitter.com/qYScHLBfT7
— Sam Sneak 👟 (@DJSamSneak) March 22, 2017
Sky is the Limit
With all of the headlines being about music, one might forget Chad Thomas is still a pretty good football player, and is coming off of his best season as a Hurricane. His production soared after defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski was brought in, Thomas finished second on the team in tackles for loss and sacks with 11 and 4.5, respectively. Going into his senior season, he looks to add to the legacy of Kuligowski and dominant pass rushers. Having shown the potential that made him a 5-star prospect coming out of high school, it’s possible that he could very well climb his way up into the first round next draft.
https://twitter.com/canescutups/status/864897504806150146
That would only be icing on the cake for Thomas as his musical endeavors are currently ascending. His latest feat is from DJ Khaled, who is set to release a new album, Grateful, and just released a single featuring Drake. The correlation with Thomas is that the beat is sampled from one of his songs/social media challenge that went viral in 2015.
If that past couple of months are any indication of what the future holds for Chad Thomas, it looks like his reason for deciding to stay in Miami for college is paying off. This on the cusp of one of his best games in the Russell Athletic Bowl, where he played the piano keys before the game as well as during when he celebrated, his forced fumble.
https://www.facebook.com/postonmiamihurricanes/videos/1054711461325280/
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