New 2016 Commitment: JUCO RB Thomas McDonald

Grossmont College (the same junior college wide receiver Tim Patrick played for) running back Thomas McDonald announced via his Twitter account last night that he has committed to play football for Utah.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I&#39;m excited and proud to announce that I have verbally committed to continue my career at the University of Utah next season <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/blessed?src=hash">#blessed</a> </p>&mdash; Thomas mcdonald (@thomastooreal25) <a href="https://twitter.com/thomastooreal25/status/608481036134182913">June 10, 2015</a></blockquote>

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The 5' 11", 195 pound running back with 4.42 speed (all according to his Hudl account) is originally from Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, Fla. He could become yet another from Utah's developing pipeline to the Sunshine State. WIth the JUCO and Florida connection, he was likely recruited by Dennis Erickson and Pablo Cano, two men who know how to find talented junior college prospects (Devontae Booker, Tevin Carter, and Kaelin Clay all come to mind). Overall, I really like this pickup. Even though his only other offer is from Texas State, he seems like he could be a great player in Utah's offensive system and could get more offers once other teams discover him. In his film*, McDonald shows off his speed and vision. He has excellent moves in the open field and can outrun most defenders. What I loved the most though was that as soon as he saw a hole, he made a cut and hit the hole hard. He does not dance around in the backfield, and once he is through a hole, he is very dangerous in the open field. Here is some film* of him in high school. He is not quite as big of a running back as Booker, but he has good size and runs very aggressively. He should fit in nicely next season with Joseph Williams and Troy McCormick.

*All film curtesy of Hudl