Florida State Reportedly Has No Plans to Release 5-Star Signee Matthew Thomas

Matthew Thomas will not have his wish granted from Florida State. If he hopes to play football elsewhere, he will have to take the route of the NCAA.

A week ago, Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald reported that the former 5-star recruit made a mistake and only signed his letter of intent with Florida State because of pressure. Thomas wanted to play for Georgia or USC, but he instead picked the Seminoles because he wanted to make his mother happy.

Now, Florida State athletic director Randy Spetman told Tallahassee.com that the school has no plans on releasing him.

 “You’d get into a situation where if you release him, then people would be doing that every year,” Spetman said.

If Thomas were allowed a pass because he gave into pressure, every other player in the country could come up with the same excuse. The school would then be backed into a corner because if Thomas were let go, the next said player would likely receive the same treatment. What is good for one is good for the other, and that is a road Florida State prefers not to travel down.

Spetman later goes on to say that if there was a valid reason for why he wants out, the school would consider making it happen.

"We would be more than happy to release someone if there is a compelling reason," Spetman said.

The only reason Thomas has is that he wanted to make his mother happy, and then he quickly realized that the decision should have been made for himself. A really sad situation, peer pressure is something these recruits constantly deal with. Friends tell you one thing, family tell you another—it's surprising this kind of stuff doesn't happen more often.

So what can Thomas do to remove himself from this situation?

"The feeling is we wouldn't release him," Spetman said. "He can appeal to the NCAA, and they can decide if there's a compelling reason."

Good luck with that. According to the report, head coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff are still hopeful they can convince the star linebacker to change his tune. Hopefully, the outcome to this story is a happy one.

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