Ranking the Contenders: Thomas Fidone
Four-star tight end Thomas Fidone released his top six schools shortly after recruiting visits were shut down last month. He had plans to visit several of the schools on his list this spring. Now with visits shut down through the end of May, at least, we start the ranking of Fidone’s top contenders with local schools.
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1. Nebraska
Fidone lives in the state of Iowa, but Council Bluffs is actually a suburb of Omaha and closer to Nebraska’s campus than it is to Iowa City. Growing up, it was the Cornhuskers that Fidone followed closely, calling himself a “pretty die-hard Nebraska fan.”
Scott Frost and his staff were in on Fidone early and he has visited Lincoln often during the recruiting process. Another visit was scheduled to take place the week after visits got shut down. The battle at the top of Fidone’s list is tight, but I have always felt Nebraska has the slight edge here.
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2. Iowa
Iowa being the first school to offer an in-state tight end sounds like it should be a lock with the way the Hawkeyes have developed the position over the years. With two first-round NFL Draft picks at the position in 2019, and alum George Kittle considered one of, if not the, best tight ends in the NFL, Iowa sells itself to prospects at the position.
The question becomes, does all of that overcome Fidone growing up a Nebraska fan? For his part, Fidone has shown considerable interest in the program by making frequent visits to Iowa City.
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3. Michigan
Among Fidone’s top six, the two at the top are pretty clear. There seems to be a fall-off after the initial pair, and how the schools below that line are able to contend will be determined by how many visits the four-star tight end is able to take before deciding.
Michigan was supposed to host Fidone for a visit the first weekend in April. It would have been his first recruiting visit to Ann Arbor, but the Wolverines lead off the next tier of schools on Fidone’s list based on the strength of his relationship with tight ends coach Sherrone Moore.
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4. Notre Dame
Notre Dame got involved in this recruitment later than the three schools ranked ahead of the Irish on this list, but the interest was immediately reciprocated by Fidone. He quickly set up a visit to South Bend, which was supposed to take place last week, on the same trip when he was supposed to visit Michigan.
Obviously those visits never happened, and Fidone still has never seen Notre Dame’s campus for himself. The four-star plans to graduate early and wants to make a pre-season decision, so the sooner the visit ban lifts the better for schools not named Iowa and Nebraska.
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5. LSU
Being the only non-Midwest or Big Ten school in Fidone’s top group makes LSU an interesting alternative if Fidone starts to think he wants a change of pace. Of course, winning a national championship makes you stick out as well.
The key with LSU being able to finish with Fidone’s letter of intent is the same as the others toward the bottom part of this list – the Tigers must get him on campus. Until that happens, the two schools at the top will continue to pull away.
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6. Penn State
Penn State just came through with an offer for Fidone in February, but the Nittany Lions have shown that they feature the tight end and develop that position very well under James Franklin. It was likely those factors that allowed Penn State to make Fidone’s top six despite having never visited State College. Whereas Michigan and Notre Dame have four-star quarterbacks committed already in this 2021 class, Penn State is off to a slower start to the class and does not have as many commits who can advocate on their behalf.