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Cal Football

Texas OLB Curlee Thomas Makes it 6 For Cal

June 18, 2021
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6-4/245 Nolan Catholic (Ft. Worth, Texas) High School defensive end Curlee Thomas‍ had a busy junior year, piling up 43 offers from programs eager to add his dynamic presence on the defensive side of the ball. But after the dust settled, it was the Bears who came out on top with the high 3 star’s commitment to Cal two weeks after his official visit to Berkeley.

“Going on my official visit, the Cal staff and support people all seem like really good people,” said Thomas today after his commitment. “They really seem like they care about the game of football and for the players, as well.

“I also like the culture at Cal and the community there is really nice. I really enjoyed my time when I was there.

“I feel like I vibed with the players well there, too, And my host Cam (Goode) seemed like a really good person.”

“Curlee’s a very interesting and dynamic kid,” said Nolan Catholic DL coach KJ Williams. “He’s an intellectual kid and academics are really important to him. He’s an awesome person. We spend a lot of time outside of football talking about his interest in engineering and computer science.

“As a player, he’s a monster. He’s very dynamic. He plays at one speed, one mindset. A very passionate player. He’s very self-motivated and tenacious.”

“What you see on the field is what you get with Curlee,” said Nolan Catholic head coach David Beaudin. “It’s that way every day in practice and every game. He’s got one gear and it’s full-go all the time. It’s fun to coach guys like that, where if you have to do anything, it’s throttle back.

“He’s a serious student, very respectible, very coachable. It’s been a pleasure to coach him.”

Thomas put together an impressive abbreviated nine game junior season. The 1st Team All-State DE led the state with 16 sacks, also adding 58 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 30 QB hurries, two fumble recoveries and one safety in 2020.

How did Thomas become involved with the Cal program?

“A few months back on Twitter, I just got in contact with (DL) Coach (Andrew) Browing and we got to know each other and I gave hime a call and established a good relationship,” said Thomas earlier.

“Coach Browning is probably one of the most upbeat coaches that I’m talking to. He sounds like he’d love to have me at the unversity. He’s a pretty cool dude.”

The Bears beat out UCLA, Texas Tech, Penn State, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Louisville, Michigan State and more for Thomas’s services. Thomas joins prior commits Nunie Tuitele‍, Jaxson Moi‍ and Nate Burrell‍ who visited earlier this month and early commits Justyn Martin‍ and Damonic Williams‍, who are visiting this weekend.

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Discussion from...

Texas OLB Curlee Thomas Makes it 6 For Cal

11,346 Views | 21 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by dimitrig
Bubba_Bear84
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Welcome to Cal Curlee. Best of luck eating QBs out here.
LACalFan
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Awesome! Curlee sounds like the type of dude that will thrive at Cal.
NYCGOBEARS
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This one is the lynchpin. Front 7 is LOADED.
irvinebear
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Congrats, Curlee!!

You will not be disappointed in your decision!

I'm ready to see you FEAST!
stanfurdbites
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Dude is massive! He may yet convert to the dline but what a front 7 indeed!
NYCGOBEARS
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stanfurdbites said:

Dude is massive! He may yet convert to the dline but what a front 7 indeed!

And he's just 16, iirc.
89Bear
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Another awesome signing!!!
Love what the coaches had to say about him. Sounds like a great player and person.
Sebastabear
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I can't say enough about how amazing our DL/OLB recruiting has been as of late (God bless you Coach Browning). DL recruiting is typically a problem for high academic programs - the venn diagram of kids smart enough to not only get admitted here but to thrive and who are talented P5 level D-Line/OLB players is not great. We've struggled in this area basically forever. Yet, here we have not one, not two, not three, but four amazing DL/OLB recruits in this class alone who I think could have run circles around me academically at that age (not to mention on the field). The focus and determination it takes to achieve what these kids are doing in school and on the field at the same time just blows me away.

Welcome Mr. Thomas. You've made an outstanding choice and joined an outstanding group. You are your classmates are going to be a force in the Pac-12 for years to come.
FireFighterBest
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Congratulations and welcome!!
Golden One
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Love those recruits from Texas!.. Bring us more!
Bubba_Bear84
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Even the linebackers are bigger in Texas!
Oski87
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Sebastabear said:

I can't say enough about how amazing our DL/OLB recruiting has been as of late (God bless you Coach Browning). DL recruiting is typically a problem for high academic programs - the venn diagram of kids smart enough to not only get admitted here but to thrive and who are talented P5 level D-Line/OLB players is not great. We've struggled in this area basically forever. Yet, here we have not one, not two, not three, but four amazing DL/OLB recruits in this class alone who I think could have run circles around me academically at that age (not to mention on the field). The focus and determination it takes to achieve what these kids are doing in school and on the field at the same time just blows me away.

Welcome Mr. Thomas. You've made an outstanding choice and joined an outstanding group. You are your classmates are going to be a force in the Pac-12 for years to come.
I could not agree more! The Bears are getting great kids who will change our place in the football world. Love what is happening at Cal right now. GO BEARS!
Goobear
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Mr. Curlee Thomas, wishing you nothing but the best of success on and off the field! Welcome and Go Bears!
MoragaBear
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Staff
The story was accidentally set as subscriber-only but it's available to read now.
jy1988
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Great! These commits perfectly fit into JW's game plan. To state the obvious, if we can routinely hold the opponent to under 21 pts, the Bears will win most of their games, even with just an adequate and efficient O.
calumnus
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MoragaBear said:

The story was accidentally set as subscriber-only but it's available to read now.

Thanks Moraga!

Sounds like a great young man, glad to have him in the program.
NVBear78
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Welcome to Cal and Go Bears! A smart and talented young man making a great 40 year choice.
philbert
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Welcome to the Cal fam! It's a great 40 year decision. Can't wait to see you crush QBs!
Fyght4Cal
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Congratulations Curlee! Welcome to California. If you become an engineering or CS student, a certain portion of the alumni are going to go nuts.
Patience is a virtue, but I’m not into virtue signaling these days.
Sebastabear
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Fyght4Cal said:

Congratulations Curlee! Welcome to California. If you become an engineering or CS student, a certain portion of the alumni are going to go nuts.
Indeed. And that's nuts in a good way. Cal is a very special school in a lot of ways - this is one of them. We celebrate your academic successes as much as we celebrate those on the field.
dimitrig
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Games are won in the trenches and Cal is killing it there in recruiting!

Get a couple of good skill players, which we seem to be able to attract more regularly anyway, and GAME ON!

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